Comedian Ricky Gervais revealed Sunday what he would have said if he had been invited to host the 94th Academy Awards.
Gervais fired off his own Oscars commentary in response to a tweet from a fan who shared his 2020 Golden Globes monologue and complained that he should be hosting the show.
I'd start with "Hello. I hope this show helps cheer up the ordinary people watching at home. If you’re unemployed for example, take some comfort in the fact that even if you had a job, your salary probably wouldn't be as much as the goody bag all the actors have just been given."
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) March 27, 2022
“I’d start with ‘Hello. I hope this show helps cheer up the ordinary people watching at home. If you’re unemployed for example, take some comfort in the fact that even if you had a job, your salary probably wouldn’t be as much as the goody bag all the actors have just been given,'” Gervais tweeted.
Gervais followed that up with a second tweet mocking the annual awards show for its often self-congratulatory approach to diversity and inclusion.
“‘I’m proud to announce that this is the most diverse and progressive Oscars ever. Looking out I see people from all walks of life. Every demographic under the sun. Except poor people, obviously. F*** them,'” he added.
Gervais, who was merciless in his mockery of the Hollywood elite class at the 2020 Golden Globes, announced weeks earlier that he would be happy to host the Academy Awards as well — and he’d do it without even demanding a paycheck — but only if producers did not force him to get his jokes approved prior to the show.
As The Daily Wire reported:
Comedian Ricky Gervais told the hosts of ABC’s “The View” that he would host the Academy Awards for free — but only if organizers would agree to let him say whatever he wanted.
Gervais initially made the claim during a Tuesday morning appearance on”Today with Hoda and Jenna,” saying that he’d likely be “canceled halfway through” if the Academy hired him for the event. “They’d never let me do what I wanted. That’s why the Globes got me,” he explained.
“I might be allowed to host it, if I did what I was told, there’s the rub, the good thing at the Globes, they said I could write my own jokes, say what I want and not rehearse and that’s just too good for a comedian to turn down but I don’t think Oscars would ever allow me that freedom,” Gervais told “The View” host Sunny Hostin. “Rightly so, I think they would be mad. If they did, I’d do it. If they said that, I’d definitely do it. I’d do it for free if they said I could do that.”
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg, who has hosted the Academy Awards on several occasions, disagreed with Gervais’ claim that the Oscars’ producers would never let him get away with that kind of freedom.
“I think you’re wrong. I think they would absolutely adore it if you were up for it,” she said. “Did I just hear you say you might be interested? … If you’re serious I can talk to a couple of people. I know people.”