Photo: Hard Drive
The LGBTQ+ community was quick to react following the release of SuperNature, a new stand-up special by Ricky Gervais.
The British comedian has been heavily criticized for his jokes in the show’s early scenes, which many have taken offense to as discrimination against trans women.
“Ugh, women. Not all women; I mean the old-fashioned ones, the old-fashioned women, you know, the ones with wombs. Those f—ing dinosaurs,” Gervais states in the show’s first five minutes.
“I love the new women. I knew the new women, I know there are new women, they’re great, aren’t they? The new ones, the ones with beards and c—ks. They’re as good as gold, I love them.”
He also touched on sensitive topics, such as the right for transgender women to use public bathrooms, taking their pronouns to mockery in the process: “They are ladies, look at their pronounce,” he elaborates, stressing that “his penis” is just the thing about “this person” that “isn’t a lady.”
“‘What if he rapes me?'” Gervais asks. “What if she rapes you, you f—king TERF whore.”
“5 minutes in, and he’s making jokes about trans women attacking & raping people in public bathrooms,” a Twitter user posted after the special’s release. “To him, we exist only as a punchline, a threat, something less than human.”
The Independent’s review of Gervais’ special said that he relied heavily on transphobic jokes for the sake of humiliation.
“If you support Ricky Gervais in ANY WAY, you are not an ally of trans people,” another Twitter user wrote. “You are not an ally of mine.”
While others backed Gervais’ remarks as a parody of what they called “nonsense” in liberal ideologies, LGBTQ+ community allies were firm in calling the comedian’s jokes archaic.
“Every single day, I log into twitter and see more nuanced and original comedy from trans girls s— posting than I’ve ever seen from Comedians like Ricky Gervais throughout their entire career,” another user tweeted. “I’m starting to suspect they’re the ones that don’t understand comedy.”
Some media outlets have asked Gervais and Netflix for comments about the matter.
Opinions expressed by Artist Weekly contributors are their own.
