Editorial
Ricky Gervais has said that ‘smart people’ don’t get ‘offended’ by jokes relating to AIDS, cancer or Adolf Hitler.
The comedian made the comment when he appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
He told the show’s host: “People get offended when they mistake the subject of the joke with the actual target and smart people know you can deal with anything, particularly when dealing with something like irony.”
Find out why Ricky Gervais thinks censoring speech is ‘dangerous’ in the clip below…
The After Life creator went on to share the subjects he believes are ‘evergreen,’ adding: “It [his comedy] was always evolving.
“There was a thought, ‘Will this be out of date?’. And then I realised that when you’re dealing with, you know, famine, AIDS, cancer, Hitler, those dudes are evergreen. Yeah, so they’re not going to, they don’t date.”
Appearing to agree with Gervais, Colbert replied: “There is no audience that isn’t going to love that.”
Jokingly, the 60-year-old continued: “Boo! Not Hitler! It was a long time ago. Like, you don’t go to a Ricky Gervais concert for just feel good.”
Ricky Gervais Responds To Will Smith’s 10-Year Oscars Ban With ‘Brutal’ Joke
Discussing his humour further, Gervais went on to add that he does feature a lot of ‘taboo subjects’.
Explaining why, he said: “They do laugh, but they know that I deal with taboo subjects.
“But I deal with taboo subjects because I want to take the audience to a place it hasn’t been before, and there is a tension.”
The Emmy winner went on to say that he believes comedy helps people get over ‘bad stuff’.
He commented: “That’s why I laugh about terrifying bad things. You know, that’s why comedians are obsessed with death because, you know, it gets us through… It’s an inoculation to the real things that are going to happen.”
Watch our Video of the Day below…
Do you have a story for us? If so, email us at [email protected]. All contact will be treated in confidence.
