Content Warning – This article reports anti-Trans language which may be offensive to some people.
Following last year’s controversy over Dave Chappelle’s transphobic comments on his stand up special, Netflix has repeated themselves by commissioning the new Ricky Gervais special, SuperNature.
Less than two minutes into the show, Gervais starts taking a stab at Trans people, using Eddie Izzard as the butt of a joke about female comedians. And he continues to ‘punch down’ at the Trans community from there.
After releasing an exhaustive sigh, he says “Ugh, women – Not all women. I mean the old fashioned women. The old fashioned women, you know, the ones with wombs.” After fake yawning, he throws in, “those f***ing dinosaurs.”
Although intended to refer specifically to Trans women, Gervais neglects that approximately one in 5,000 cis women are either born without a uterus or have them removed for various medical reasons.
Following this, he glibly comments “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*cks. They’re as good as gold, I love them,” before launching into an increasingly derogatory rhetorical conversation between a Trans supporter and a cis “old fashioned” woman. Each time getting more aggressive as the Trans supporter.
“‘They want to use our toilets’
‘Why shouldn’t they use your toilets?’
‘[They’re] for ladies.’
‘They ARE ladies. LOOK AT THEIR PRONOUNS! What about this person isn’t a lady?’
‘Well, his penis.’
‘HER penis, you f***ing bigot!’
‘What if he rapes me?’
‘What if SHE rapes you, you f***ing TERF whore!’”
Ricky Gervais just called trans women rapists & told us to cut off our genitals for his personal comfort on yet another hate-filled Netflix "comedy" special
Fuck you @netflix, SO glad I cancelled my subscription to your hate service months ago
You're gonna get more of us killed
— Strewth ?️⚧️?️? (@StrewthQueen) May 25, 2022
Not satisfied with his tirade about Tran’s women, he went on to attack ‘cancel culture’ claiming that the “dominant mob” control who can be “cancelled”. He goes on, claiming that “identity politics” is something which can no longer be joked about.
As well as stating that the Gervais special is “full of graphic, dangerous, anti-Trans rants masquerading as jokes,” GLAAD, the American LGBTQ+ media monitoring organisation states: “He also spouts anti-gay rhetoric and spreads inaccurate information about HIV.”
We watched the Ricky Gervais "comedy" special on Netflix so you don’t have to. It’s full of graphic, dangerous, anti-trans rants masquerading as jokes. He also spouts anti-gay rhetoric & spreads inaccurate information about HIV. 1/4
— GLAAD (@glaad) May 24, 2022
Before finishing his set, Gervais feebly attempts to redeem himself by saying, “In real life, I support Trans rights. I support all human rights. Trans rights are human rights. Live your best life. Use your preferred pronouns. Be the gender that you feel you are. But meet me halfway, ladies. Lose the c*ck.”
This is not the first time that Gervais has publically attacked Trans women. During the 2016 Gloden Globes, he was criticised for making Caitlyn Jenner the butt of the joke. And again in his first Netflix special in 2018, he spent 15 minutes rehashing the controversy while repeatedly deadnaming Jenner.
So far Netflix has not commented on the controversial nature of Gervais’s performance which feels all too familiar after they stood by Dave Chappelle over their LGBTQ+ employees in October 2021, especially as it has been reported that the streaming platform paid up to $40 million for Gervais’s show. No doubt there will be more reactions in the coming days.
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