Ricky Gervais Doesn’t Get It

Acerbic comic Ricky Gervais took some time to talk about the jokes that irritated more than a few people when he hosted his own roast at last year’s Golden Globes.

Ricky explains it all in a column he wrote himself in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly.

“The simple fact is,’ he writes, “offence is taken, not given. It’s up to you if you’re offended or not. And remember, just because you’re offended, it doesn’t mean you’re right.”

He then goes on to explain 4 of his jokes from the 2011 Golden Globes. Here’s one about Hugh Hefner’s then-upcoming marriage to Crystal Harris, that he contends that this ‘gag’ wasn’t ageist:

“Congratulations to Hugh Hefner, who’s getting married at the age of 84 to 24-year-old beauty Crystal Harris. When she was asked why she was marrying him she said, ‘Because he lied about his age. He told me he was 94.’”

Gervais claims he was suggesting that maybe the romance was based on something other than love. We didn’t think it was ageist. We just didn’t think it was funny.

So we don’t think he gets it at all, but let us help you out, Ricky –

The simple fact is:

If you have to explain the joke, it’s not funny.

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Tags: awards, ricky