Ricky Gervais brings up Jeffrey Epstein, Greta Thunberg, and more in cringe-y Golden Globes monologue

At least he didn't recycle his 2011 jokes.
 By 
Proma Khosla
 on 
Ricky Gervais brings up Jeffrey Epstein, Greta Thunberg, and more in cringe-y Golden Globes monologue

Ricky Gervais' return to the Golden Globes hosting gig was meant to invoke the comedy actor's unpredictability and acid wit — but Gervais began his Jan. 5 monologue by declaring that this would be the last time.

"I don't care," he said up front.

As usual, the camera cut throughout his monologue to mixed audience reactions, including a perplexed Tom Hanks and steely Jonathan Pryce.

Gervais did get laughs for the jabs he took at Hollywood collectively, such as telling the entire room they had less education than Greta Thunberg and a cheeky "I know he's your friend" after groans for a joke about Jeffrey Epstein. He also scoffed at his peers who use awards show speeches to spread political awareness.

“If you win don’t use it as a platform for a political speech," he said. "You’re in no position to lecture the public. You say you’re woke but the companies you work for … if ISIS started a streaming service you’d call your agent.”

Gervais himself said that no one watches movies and the show would be shorter if he could just come to the stage and say "Well done, Netflix!"

Maybe next year, Ricky.

Topics Golden Globes

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Proma Khosla

Proma Khosla is a Senior Entertainment Reporter writing about all things TV, from ranking Bridgerton crushes to composer interviews and leading Mashable's stateside coverage of Bollywood and South Asian representation. You might also catch her hosting video explainers or on Mashable's TikTok and Reels, or tweeting silly thoughts from @promawhatup.

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