14 DAY TRIAL // His hosting job at the Golden Globes 2011 has generated so much media attention that it would have been strange not to have Ricky Gervais back for another year. The British comedian has revealed that organizers want him back for a third time.
Writing in his column for Heat magazine, Gervais reveals that, despite the controversy and the furor his jokes at the Globes caused this year, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association would have him back in a flash.
Of course, being offered the gig for a third year in a row and actually doing it are two different things, Ricky explains. He says he’s almost certain there’s no use in him saying yes to the offer.
The comedian is not even slightly surprised that the HFPA wants him back because he brought them more publicity than they could have ever dreamed of getting.
“The ratings went up again, and the organizers asked me to consider a third year. (But) I don’t think I should. I don’t know what I could do better. I certainly couldn’t get more press for them, that’s for sure,” Gervais writes.
This is why he will say no to the offer eventually, because there’s nothing more he can do for the HFPA, he explains.
“I did exactly what I went to do: improve on last year’s and have a laugh. The response was staggering. It was discussed on every news channel and chat show for weeks,” Ricky notes.
“The weird thing is, the question is always, ‘Did Ricky go too far?’ And the answer is always, ‘No.’ I have yet to find anyone who was actually offended by it,” he points out.
This is not the first time that Gervais says he wouldn’t host the Globes a third time even if organizers asked him back, the only difference being this time that organizers really did ask him back, despite feigning outrage over his behavior at first.
As we also noted at the time, Gervais turned his hosting job into a genuine celebrity roast, where no one was safe from his jokes, which some found hilarious, others pretty offensive.
It’s safe to say now that the HFPA wasn’t among the latter.