Comedian Ricky Gervais has spoken out against celebs, saying that people have had enough of listening to their "virtue signaling" and "lecturing".
The 60-year-old stand-up performer and actor has made headlines over the years for skewering stars with his savage jokes. His stints presenting the Golden Globe awards - which he helmed five times between 2010 and 2020 - are remembered as particularly ruthless.
Now in an interview with The Sun, Gervais has opened up about his take-no-prisoners approach to comedy and claimed that people stopped caring about celebs in 2020.
Reflecting on his time presenting the Golden Globes, Gervais said: "2020 was my favorite one. That one captured the imagination."
Gervais continued: "The first time I did it, ten years ago, everyone was like, ‘Ah, how can you talk to these wonderful multi-millionaires, how can you talk to these beautiful people, like that? We love celebrities’.
"By the last one it was like, ‘God, give it to them, we hate celebrities!’"
The After Life star went on to explain why he thinks people are sick of celebs.
"I know what it is. With all of the austerity and people struggling, they think, ‘Why are these people lecturing me? They’re going to an awards ceremony in a limo and are telling me to recycle?’" he said. "People just got sick of it, just got sick of virtue signaling. And they were like a beacon to aim their wrath at."
The comedian added: "The people with nothing became tired of being lectured by people who had everything."
Gervais' comments came ahead of the 79th Golden Globe Awards, which took place in Los Angeles last night.
The low-key ceremony - held privately in The Beverly Hilton Hotel - was distinctly less glamorous than in recent years, with no red carpet, media coverage, or star-studded guest list.
Allegations of corruption and a lack of diversity in the Globes' voting body - The Hollywood Foreign Press Association - led to networks, publicity agencies, and celebs distancing themselves from the event, BBC News reports.
Rather than being covered live on TV, awards were announced via social media.