Wanda Sykes threw subtle – or, arguably, not so subtle – shade at Ricky Gervais at last night’s Golden Globe Awards. While accepting an award on the controversial comedian’s behalf, Wanda praised him for “not being here” and then thanked God and the transgender community.
Wanda thanked God and the trans community on Ricky’s behalf
In case you missed it, Wanda last night presented the award for Best Stand-Up Comedy on Television. Ricky, who was up against the likes of Kevin Hart, Kumail Nanjiani, and Sarah Silverman, was nominated for his recent Netflix special, Mortality.
Ricky wasn’t at the ceremony but ultimately won the category award, giving Wanda the perfect moment to add in a little comedy of her own. “I get to accept the award on your behalf,” she told an absent Ricky. “And you’re going to thank God and the trans community.”
As well as being a self-described atheist, Ricky has repeatedly come under fire from the LGBTQIA+ community. After his 2022 Netflix special, SuperNature, he faced backlash over jokes made about transgender people. This prompted the LGBTQIA+ advocacy organization, GLAAD, to release a statement.
“We watched the Ricky Gervais ‘comedy’ special on Netflix, so you don’t have to. It’s full of graphic, dangerous, anti-trans rants masquerading as jokes,” the group said on X.
To that, Ricky defended his right to joke about such topics. Speaking on BBC’s The One Show in 2022, he said, “I want to take the audience to a place it hasn’t been before.”
“I think that’s what comedy is for – getting us over taboo subjects so they’re not scary anymore,” he added. “Most offence comes from when people mistake the subject of a joke with the actual target.”
Later in the interview, Ricky said: “I support all human rights, and trans rights are human rights.”
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