Ricky Gervais doesn’t care about being cancelled and loves offensive jokes

"I don’t care anymore."

The joke in question began with the comedian referring to terminally ill children as "baldies," and then went on to discuss the Make-A-Wish foundation.

“Why didn’t you wish to get better? What, are you f***ing r*****ed as well?” Gervais says in a preview of the show.

The ableist language used led to a Change.org petition which has amassed over 12,000 signatures at the time of writing.

Proper weirdo if you actually laughed at this. It’s not even that it’s offensive, it’s just literally not funny 😬😬😬😬 what point is he trying to make https://t.co/3HmKYqlHKa

— Pheeb 🍒 (@pheebs_mj) December 4, 2023

However, Gervais has since spoken out against the backlash during an appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live, where he hit out at those who criticised the joke.

“I’m literally saying in the joke that I don’t do that. But people have a reaction. They don’t analyse it,” he said.

“They feel something – that’s what offence is. It’s a feeling. That’s why ‘I’m offended’ is quite meaningless. What do you want me to change?”

“They’re not really offended. They just want to be heard,” he continued, claiming that "99 percent" of the backlash was "faux offence".

“Of all the millions of people that watched it and loved it, only a few don’t like it. If I give them special attention and try and placate them, I’ve annoyed the other millions of people that got the joke. They go, ‘No, you’ve ruined it for us!’”

He added: “I’ve got a duty to the people that like it and get it. I wouldn’t sit down with a heckler would I? If I’m playing to 20,000 people, I wouldn’t stop the show and explain to them. I ignore them.”

Gervais declared that he 'doesn't care anymore' about whether or not he gets cancelled.

"Maybe at the beginning, I thought, ‘Ooh, I don’t want to be cancelled; I’ve got a few more things to say," he told the outlet.

"Now, I don’t care.“If someone said, ‘You can never go on telly again or do another film,’ I’d go, ‘Yeah, whatever’.

"I’ve done it, I’m fine. The mob is pretty toothless now."

The 62-year-old went on to explain that he gets a 'rush' from writing jokes that he thinks will offend.

“The rush for me is when I first have the idea.

"The rush for me is when I first have the idea. I go, ‘Can I make them laugh at this? Will they get it?’"