Image Credit: Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/AP ImagesAmid complaints (or should we say universal cheers?) about Ricky Gervais’ performance at the Golden Globes on Sunday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association released this statement to EW: “We loved the show. It was a lot of fun and obviously has a lot of people talking. When you hire a comedian like Ricky Gervais, one expects in your face, sometimes outrageous material. Certainly, in this case, he pushed the envelope and occasionally went too far. The HFPA would never condone some of his personal remarks. Overall, however, the show was among the best we’ve ever had and we were pleased.”
Gervais, who helped the Globes win its timeslot in viewers and the key adult demographics, took no prisoners inside the Beverly Hilton. Even the HFPA wasn’t immune to his zingers, like this one: “I’d like to quash this ridiculous rumor going around that the only reason The Tourist was nominated was so the HFPA could hang out with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. That is rubbish. That is not the only reason. They also accepted bribes.” That line is what presumably prompted the HFPA president to shoot back, “Ricky, next time you want me to help you qualify your movies, go to another guy.”
NBC declined to comment, but Gervais issued his own statement (and took to his blog to discuss the matter as well):
“I did every single introduction I was meant to. There just happened to be a long gap. This is because I was allowed to choose who I would introduce in advance. I obviously chose presenters who I had the best jokes for. (And who I knew had a good sense of humour). Everyone took it well and the atmosphere backstage and at the after show was great.”
UPDATE: The comedian also discussed his hosting duties on his blog: “I enjoyed the Globes more this year. I think I had better gags. More along the lines of the Mel Gibson one last year. Obviously the rumour that the organizers stopped me going out on stage for an hour is rubbish. I did every link I was scheduled to do. The reason why the gaps were uneven is because when I got the rundown I was allowed to choose who I presented to. I obviously chose the spots that I had the best gags for. They couldn’t move around the order but I could move around however I wanted. All the same conspiracy theories as last year too… ‘So and so was offended‘… ‘hasn’t been invited back yet’… exactly the same as last time. ‘Paul McCartney was furious‘… no he wasn’t. And nor was Tim Allen and Tom Hanks. I was drinking with them after.”
I actually enjoy the show thanks to Ricky….
Ricky did a good job outing the “Bubble Hollywood” out on their on turf.
Ricky was great and people need to stop being offended every 5 minutes.
Ricky just said what everyone wonders. So, does the HFPA
think we are idiots? We got that they were jokes and we enjoyed them! As far as I am concerned, Ricky could have gone on all evening! I missed him during the long gap and was hoping he would say more!
He was good, but the winners and nominations were horrible.
Ricky Gervais is the only reason I watched. If I just want to know who wins, I’ll just read it in the paper the next day or watch the news
yes horrible speeches boring …thanks to ricky it was a good show
I have no idea who won anything.
I just watched the edit highlights – i.e. Each of Gervais’ turns at the lectern.
They should be grateful to Ricky.
Look at all of the discussion going on…good/bad/whatever…they’re still talking.
Bring him back! Bring him back! Let them play! Let them play! (Bad News Bears)
I had to go back and watch his quips again on youtube, and I think everybody he dumped on was “in” on the joke. I also read somewhere that some of the targets knew they would be talked about.
All actors/stars want camera time. Did you see Johnny Depp’s face when Gervais targeted him?
Johnny looked amused. I’m sure Angelina had her usual holier than thou/better than everyone in this room pout on her face.
Let’s remind everyone Kathy Griffin has been insulting celebrities for years.
The difference: she’s not funny and Ricky is.
i think she is as funny as him. she should present golden globes next year.
The problem with Kathy Griffin is that while she may skewer celebs as Gervais does, and she may even be decent at it, she will always possess a grating voice and an annoying personality. I would take Ricky any day over Griffin, because at least his delivery doesn’t cause me to involuntarily grimace. Seriously. She makes my hairs stand at attention, and NOT in a good way. I get the feeling a lot of the people she interacts with feel the same way.
And Ricky Gervais’ voice isn’t annoying? And his accent not grating? LOL! I think you are one of those that think everything British is better! I bet you would get along with Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna.
please no….. don’t mention Kathy Griffin! Not in the morning. She is a very hateful person. Ricky is fun.
@teatroborikua – since when was Madonna British?? Or is that what you Puerto Ricans think due to your miseducation?
@Brian — some people are just straight up retarded.
so has Don Rickles. He made a name in doing that. Hell, celebrities get picked on by critics
Notice that everybody is talking about Ricky and not who won????
Best. Host. Ever.
AGREED!
Enjoyed him as host. I love his cringe humor. All his insults were warranted.
Again the media just has a problem with him going after these A-listers, but nothing about him doing a Hugh Hefner BJ sight gag joke to start the show in the so-called 8 PM family hour.
He wasn’t do a BJ gag. He was mimicing Hefner’s fiancee trying not to hurl.
Agreed! The Oscars would never let him host, which kind of sucks. Hopefully, the GG brings him back next year.
I don’t think I’d watch it without him.
I agree, he made the show.When you ask for Ricky this is him at his best. Check out his show on HBO. Robert Downey Jr. was soo funny. I thought his comments were so spot on.
He was superb for telling the truth in a funny way right into their faces. He really didn`t break any new ground cause we all knew already that:
HFPA is a joke and lives off bribe and star-w*nking.
Scientology superstars (Cruise and Travolta) are closet gay and that`s Hollywood`s worst kept secret.
The Tourist is a terrible movie and Angie and Johnny got terrible reviews so their nominations were bulls*** star-w*nking.
RDJ was a jailbird and a junkie.
Tim Allen is a nobody.
So what was the problem again?
Go Ricky!
settle down, che guevara.
RDJ is not trying to the fact he went to jail and had drug problems. he’s talked and joked about it ad nauseam.
Tim Allen is a successful low-brow comic, his trademark noise was a grunt, and has never said he’s got Tom Hanks career.
Gervais just rubbed their faces in what they have never tried to hide.
Star-w*nking HFPA: yes. i’m with you on that.
RDJ had the best comeback/play off of Gervais’ zings, so I don’t get the hate. He one-upped him and should probably get a hosting gig of his own.
Also, I am not a fan of Scientology for a lot of reasons, but I don’t get the constant accusation that it’s a cover for being gay. I mean, I really don’t get where that comes from. At this point, who cares? Why do we care if Tom Cruise is gay? I don’t.
SJ has got to be kidding. That whole having sex with all five of the Best Actress nominees while his wife watched was CREE-PAY. Those women should have stormed the stage and ripped his botoxed head right off his body.
I admired that he was brave enough to go out ‘fighting’ with possibly his most controverial joke of the night. He is who he is and I especially liked his joke about Hugh Hefner, and when the stars had their own little quips to give back.
I was much more offended actually by Robert DeNiro’s speech about hispanic people (which I did not understand) and Megan Fox – who had to present right after he basically acted like a boy just entering puberty when talking about her.
AGREED! Best ever!
Agree
Uber Agreed!
I agree. The problem is that some of these actors just take themselves too seriously. Johnny Depp had a smile on his face as Ricky uttered that joke, can the same be said about Angie? Probably not, she’s too uptight and thinks she should be worshipped. Ricky didn’t say anything that the rest of us weren’t thinking already. Kudos to him, and NBC should bring him back next year.
Wasn’t he supposed to be funny too?
He was…to people with a sense of humor.
Every one of his jokes had been done before. Anybody in the audience could have written them. At least be clever if you are going to be nasty.
But he dared to say them (mostly) to the people they were aimed at. Huge difference, and part of what added to the value.
Those jokes have not been done before as the subject matter was all time specific and this sort of thing is rarely seen on a televised hollywood awards show.
you are a moron…
Yes, nobody has ever made a joke about Charlie Sheen being drunk or Robert Downey having a drug problem and being in jail or celebrities being gay or Ashton Kutcher being younger than his wife. It was entirely original and refreshing. The audience could have written the jokes as soon as they heard the names.
ok, sam. you have the floor. tell us a unique and very funny joke then..
I actually agree with Sam, all of his jokes were predictable. That doesn’t mean I could do better, but I will say this, if I had been up there, at least it would have seemed like the host actually liked the people in the room. It was uncomfortable because he seems to hate everyone there but himself. I get that Hollywood is hugely self-congratulatory, but do we really need an awards ceremony emceed by a guy who hates Hollywood?
If the jokes were so pedestrian and predictable, why are so many people talking about them?
Just watch Craig Ferguson tonight and you will see a truly funny man.
Craig Ferguson of the mugging face and annoying manner? I’ve not been able to watch 5 minutes of his show ever.
Gervais said nothing that hasn’t been said by late-night hosts that don’t get flack b/c the stars in question need the platform to promote themselves.
I actually only watched the show because of Gervais. He did not disappoint. He was hilarious and I was so upset that he was basically pulled from the second part of the show. Has anyone at the HFPA ever seen his act? Obviously not….they wouldn’t have booked him!
He hosted last year as well so unless they were absent they all know his humor. Granted, he admitted prior to the show that he was going to go out full guns blazing and that he didn’t think he went far enough last year…he said this in every pre-show interview I saw, so they can’t say they didn’t know it was coming.
HFPA, get off your high horse.
One of the greatest sources of humor is the twists, turns, and maladies that life throws at ALL of us. Laughing at our troubles keeps us sane.
Bash or boycott Ricky and you appear the fool. You hired him to do his thing, no?
I didn’t think they were bashing or boycotting him. They understandably didn’t want to say they agreed with some of the personal attacks he made (hilarious as they might have been). So they said that overall, it was a great show and they loved it. I thought it was a pretty good response from them.
Somehow, someway, I think these celebrities (and the HFPA Prez) were able to get up this morning and continue with their lives.
We laughed. It was over. We moved on.
If any celebs or PR people or even fans are really THAT upset: get a life.
Seriously.
What did they expect? That’s what they hired him for.
Ricky is my freakin HERO after last night. Some people are just too uptight
When movies like The Tourist and Burlesque get nominated for awards, someone has to take the organization down a few pegs.
THAT is exactly what I was thinking – Seriously Burlesque??? Ricky was awesome and seems to have the publics support everywhere I read. Those who were offended should check their behavior out – many stars out there didn’t give Ricky the material to use in the first place!
I thought those two nominations were jokes since those are the only two movies I have heard from friends that they walked out off in the middle of it..maybe the movies translated better for the European press than it did here in the U.S. NOT!!
Exactly. That those two could get nominated in Best Comedy and not Toy Story 3? Seriously?
I think if you are out there, making a gazillion dollars like most people who were at the awards last night are.. then you also deserve to be made fun of! I think the stars need to ligthen up!!
As an Australian I found his jokes mean but funny. I think the English and Australian sense of humour is quite similar. They both have a history of taking the mickey or as we say “hanging sh#t” on each other. It probably isn’t what American’s are used to.
nail on the head there son!
we take the piss, they dont!
I think we do understand that humor. But I’m curious, and I’m just asking because I don’t know, would a comedian do that at the BAFTA awards? Because to me it seemed like it was out of context for the event.
I think a more accurate comparison would be the Oscars. No, it wouldn’t be done at the Oscars, but the Golden Globes are way more laid back and celebs usually drink and eat in the audience.
I think if there was an English version of the Golden Globes, the humor would most certainly run in this direction. I think people are missing the point, though. The HFPA saw the bit of buzz they got last year for Gervais’ act. They knew if they got word out this year he was going balls to the wall, people would tune in. They also know that people loved it, and if they know he’s back next year, all the people who watched online today will be watching the telecast that evening. Well played, HFPA. I particularly liked the part where Gervais spent the weeks leading up to this touting just how ballsy he was going this time around. Genius strategy.
It would be the FUNNIEST thing if the producers of the Oscars and BAFTA cart him out at the beginning of their shows. COMEDY.
Chris Rock hosted the Oscars and was way more mean than Gervais in his monologue.
Canadian here we have that same type of humor..
Just watch Rick Mercer, or Kids in the Hall.
I thought Ricky was great. The HFPA needs to chill out. They are lucky anyone watched.
agreed!!!
Ricky, you did great!!! I have never watched those boring awards ceremonies but since you got in as host, I tuned in from begining to the very end.
Ricky is not there to entertain the actors, he is there to entertain us. So hooray for Ricky!!!
Well said Yohannie!
His schtick was all in good fun. I think anyone at the receiving end should have taken his comments in stride. I think they ought to have him back.
LOVED the show and Ricky is keeping it real. Loved it.