EXCLUSIVE: The comedy star is about to embark on his fifth major stand-up tour and some of his jokes are so near-the-knuckle that even he seemed shocked
Ricky Gervais is unleashing his most controversial stand-up tour yet in which he will deliver gags that seem guaranteed to cause offence. The comedian and star of The Office will take the new show, called Legend, around the world before it is filmed for TV and streamed on Netflix as part of a big-money deal.
And this week he tried out gags about a raft of shocking topics including Jimmy Savile, suicide, Jesus being nailed to the cross and Hitler. Ricky, 64, tested out his new material at a special gig in London on Monday night.
After making a highly distasteful joke about Savile’s abuse of disabled kids while they were in comas, Ricky admitted: “That is the worst thing I have ever said.”
On the subject of Jesus Christ, he spoke about him dying on the cross, saying he made that type of death “cool” and quipping: “I’d love to be found like that. It wasn’t cool at the time, but Jesus made it cool.”
And further exploring death, the comedian – who wrote and starred in the Netflix series After Life – said he probably had the power to convince internet trolls to kill themselves. “I look at their profiles and I think, ‘I could probably get them to commit suicide because they’re going to do it soon anyway, let me be a part of it’.”
He claimed he wouldn’t be able to take his own life because his ego would get in the way when it came to writing a perfect suicide note. But he claimed to have asked friends to help him end it all if he ever became paralysed, and joked he’d like a gun in his home for when he’s old.
During his set, Ricky also declared that Adolf Hitler had done some “good stuff” before launching the Holocaust, which included coming up with the VW Beetle.
“I’m not defending him but he did do some good stuff,” Ricky said. “Adolf’s early work – he sorted out the transport system, he invented the people car.” When the crowd went very quiet, he added: “All I’m saying is, whatever you think of this joke, remember I wrote The Office.”
Ricky, who lives with his long-term partner Jane Fallon in a £15million north London mansion and also has a riverside retreat in Marlow, Bucks, and at least one apartment in New York, said he’d called the tour Legend “just to annoy people”.
He explained: “Just so they go, ‘Ooh, who does he think he is? He’s changed’. I don’t think I have changed. I still feel working class. I know I’m not, I live in a big house. But I want people to know where I came from. “
His four previous tours – Humanity, Supernature, Armageddon and Mortality – have all proved huge hits both live and on screen, with the latter two each earning him a Golden Globe award.
Launching the new tour, which kicks off its UK leg next week in London and will be followed by dates across Europe and the US next year, he said: “This is my most personal show so far and because both cancel culture, and most people I knew growing up, are dead, I can really say what I want now.”
On his fee from Netflix, he quipped: “I’m not saying how much they’re paying me this time, but I can say it’s my favourite deal so far.”
The animal lover will again donate a portion of the profits from ticket sales to charity – last time he handed £2.4million to animal causes.
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