British comedian Ricky Gervais angered the Hollywood establishment this week with an incendiary performance as host of the Golden Globes. The show’s audience squirmed at the unexpected ferocity of Gervais’ jokes, in which he mocked Cher and the Sex and the City cast as superannuated relics, referred to Bruce Willis as “Ashton Kutcher’s dad,” described Robert Downey Jr. as being best known for “his stays at the Betty Ford clinic,” and referred, without naming names, to two famous actors affiliated with Scientology who, he claimed, are closeted gays. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which hosts the Globes, issued a statement saying Gervais “went too far.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
An introvert's dream? Flu camps that offer £4,400 to spend two weeks aloneUnder The Radar A fortnight in isolation may not be as blissful as it sounds
-
Can Trump put his tariffs on stronger legal footing?Today's Big Question Appeals court says 'emergency' tariffs are improper
-
Film reviews: The Roses, Splitsville, and TwinlessFeature A happy union devolves into domestic warfare, a couple's open marriage reaps chaos, and an unlikely friendship takes surprising turns
