Ricky Gervais: I wouldn't have been able to resist "risky" jokes if I had been Golden Globes host
The comedian says he wished he'd been asked to host the Hollywood awards instead of Seth Meyers this year, but admits, "I'd probably still have to be in hiding now"
Ricky Gervais has said that he regrets not being invited to host the Golden Globe awards this year, but admits that given the recent scandals in Hollywood it's probably for the best that the gig went to Seth Meyers instead.
The comedian, whose biting monologues have shocked and offended Hollywood celebrities in previous years, told Radio Times magazine that he would "probably still have to be in hiding now" if he had hosted the 2018 awards.
Following the the Me Too movement in response to sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein and numerous other Hollywood figures, Gervais said that he would have found the urge to make "risky" jokes "too tantalising".
"It's nice being the most feared man in American for three hours but this year I'd probably still have to be in hiding now," he said after explaining that he would have liked to be Golden Globes host.
"With risky stuff, it's all too tantalising – I love joking about the elephant in the room. Although the elephant wasn't there this year, was he?"
Gervais is about to launch a new stand-up comedy show, Humanity, on Netflix: "It makes perfect sense for me because Netflix were happy to give me final edit, which other channels just won't offer, and they've got 110 million subscribers. So creatively and commercially, I've really fallen on my feet."
Ricky Gervais: Humanity is released on Netflix on Tuesday 13 March. Read the full interview with Gervais in the new issue of Radio Times
