HFPA and some celebrities were upset with the comedian's jokes at this year's awards show.
By Gil Kaufman
Ricky Gervais
Photo: Getty Images
When you flip over the tables, spill wine on the red carpet and set the dog on fire, you're typically not invited back to your boss' house for dinner. Unless, of course, your name is Ricky Gervais and you happen to be a world-beatingly witty and funny guy.
Nearly a month after upsetting a number of major Hollywood stars, not to mention the Hollywood Foreign Press Association organizers who hired him, British comedian Gervais revealed that he was actually asked to return for a third Golden Globes hosting gig next year.
The bombshell was included at the end of a Globes diary the creator of the British version of "The Office" wrote for Heat magazine. After chronicling the week leading up to his second go-round as Globes host, Gervais wrote, "I did exactly what I went to do. Improve on last year's and have a laugh. The response was staggering. It was discussed on every news channel and chat show for weeks. The weird thing is the question is always, 'Did Ricky go too far?' And the answer is always, 'No.' I have yet to find anyone who was actually offended by it."
He added, "The ratings went up again, and the organizers asked me to consider a third year. I don't think I should. I don't know what I could do better. I certainly couldn't get more press for them, that's for sure."
Gervais, known for skewering sacred cows in his standup and for his irreverent take on celebrity, brought that take-no-prisoners approach to the Globes hosting gig this year, launching broadsides against such megastars as Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Charlie Sheen, Robert Downey Jr. and even the president of the HFPA. While taking the stage mid-show, a dour Downey called the performance "hugely mean-spirited with mildly sinister undertones," but Gervais has claimed all along that nobody complained to him and the atmosphere backstage and at the afterparty was "great."
"Ricky will not be invited back to host the show next year, for sure," an unidentified HFPA member told AOL's Popeater a few days after the event. "For sure any movie he makes he can forget about getting nominated. He humiliated the organization last night and went too far with several celebrities whose representatives have already called to complain."
A spokesperson for the HFPA could not be reached for comment at press time, but if Gervais is telling the truth, it seems that a twist on the old Hollywood adage is true: funny + good ratings/ tons of press = forgiveness.
Then again, as he noted at the end of the Heat story, "You know me. Two seasons is enough," alluding to his two-year stints on the original "Office" as well as "Extras."
Related PhotosSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1657016/ricky-gervais-golden-globes-invited-him-back-2012.jhtml
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