Across the internet, those who watched the special are sharing mixed reactions with many tired of the same old jokes that just aren’t funny. Gervais seems to have hopped into the culture war alongside Dave Chappelle by offending the LGBT+ community, as is becoming the standard for comedians trying to stay relevant.
Ricky Gervais and Dave Chapelle are continuing a tired trend of transphobic jokes.
All over Twitter, the 60-year-old comedian is being attacked by LGBT+ community members and allies alike who were offended over the jokes that were made in his new Netflix special. RELATED: Woman Shows How Quickly TikTok’s Algorithm Can Radicalize Users With Far-Right Content Just as quickly, it seems, far-right-wing supporters have jumped to his aid, labeling those offended as “snowflakes” or doubling down on the jokes that Gervais made — exposing their archaic belief system for the world to see. — Paul Husband (@PaulHusband_) May 24, 2022 However, considering the timing of things like Chappelle’s backlash for making trans jokes, this move by Gervais was calculated and meant to offend in order to draw controversy and as a result, more publicity. — Steven Crowder (@scrowder) May 24, 2022 “Oh, women! Not all women, I mean the old-fashioned ones,” he starts his rant. “The old-fashioned women, the ones with wombs,” he says. “Those f—ing dinosaurs. I love the new women. They’re great, aren’t they? The new ones we’ve been seeing lately. The ones with beards and c–ks. They’re as good as gold, I love them.” — Chris Rose (@ArchRose90) May 24, 2022 Seemingly fueled by the crowd that must’ve been paid to laugh at his incessant mocking, Gervais continued onward to joke about a controversial topic: trans women in bathrooms. “And now the old-fashioned ones say, ‘Oh, they want to use our toilets.’ ‘Why shouldn’t they use your toilets?’ ‘For ladies!’ ‘They are ladies — look at their pronouns! What about this person isn’t a lady?’,” he mocks. — Esme (@discount_Ripley) May 24, 2022 “‘Well, his penis.’ ‘Her penis, you f—ing bigot!’ ‘What if he rapes me?’ ‘What if she rapes you, you f—ing TERF w—e?’,” he continues his conversation with himself, referencing the term Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF).
If there’s something that comedians seem to love doing, it’s offending vulnerable people.
Comedy can be controversial, but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be lines we don’t cross. And if we’re going to draw a line in the sand, protecting minorities might be a good place to start. Chappelle and Gervais’s jokes about the LGBT+ community aren’t examples of comedic genius that needs to be preserved, the jokes are just outright cruel. RELATED: Dave Chappelle Says He Will Stop Making Anti-LGBTQ Jokes After Suicide Of Trans Friend Daphne Dorman The trans community doesn’t deserve the constant targeting from “comedians” that promote a very dangerous hatred towards these groups. “You can’t predict what will be offensive in the future,” Gervais said minutes later, continuing his abhorrent consumption of low-hanging fruit. “You don’t know who the dominant mob will be.” “Like, the worst thing you can say today — get you canceled on Twitter, death threats — the worst thing you can say today is, ‘Women don’t have [male genitalia],’ right?” he asks the crowd. “Now, no one saw that coming. You won’t find a ten-year-old tweet of someone saying, ‘Women don’t have [male genitalia].’ You know why? We didn’t think we f—ing had to!” The crowd laughs along with the bigotry until nearing the end when he finally issues the disclaimer that he was really an ally all along, before delivering the lame punchline which is a crass joke about gender-affirming surgery. “Full disclosure: In real life of course I support trans rights. I support all human rights, and trans rights are human rights,” he says. “Live your best life. Use your preferred pronouns. Be the gender that you feel that you are. But meet me halfway, ladies: Lose the c–k. That’s all I’m saying.” The lowbrow mindlessly laughs along as the people of Twitter deliver Gervais another win for getting offended by his vain attempts at remaining a relevant comedian. There are plenty of comedians capable of making hilarious jokes and stand-up performances without offending minorities and being a bigot, so why can’t he? It’s simply too easy for him to do, and he’s getting exactly what he wants by continuing this seemingly never-ending trend of “offensive” humor and jokes about the trans community at their expense. RELATED: Why Conservatives Love Cancel Culture Just As Much As ‘Woke’ People Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.
