Ricky Gervais has defended making jokes about "taboo" subjects on the BBC's The One Show following backlash over his new Netflix special SuperNature.
In the special, Gervais informs viewers that his jokes are intended to be "ironic". The comedian then makes some quips about topics related to trans people, female comedians, and aids.
At one point, The Office creator then goes on to refer to cisgender women as "old-fashioned women… the ones with wombs, those f***ing dinosaurs", before making comments about trans women. He includes an imagined dialogue between a cis woman opposing sharing a toilet with trans women.
During an appearance on The One Show on Tuesday (May 24), Gervais defended his jokes and explained his intentions.
Watch a clip from his interview on The One Show below:"I think that’s what comedy is for, really - to get us through stuff, and I deal in taboo subjects because I want to take the audience to a place it hasn’t been before, even for a split second," he said. "Most offense comes from when people mistake the subject of a joke with the actual target."
He continued: "It starts and they go, what’s he going to say? I tell the joke. Phew, they laugh. It’s like a parachute jump - it’s scary, but then you land and it’s all OK."
"I think that’s what comedy is for - getting us over taboo subjects so they’re not scary anymore. So I deal with everything. And I think we second guess the audience too much," he emphasized.
Gervais then referred to his Netflix series After Life, saying people questioned whether the audience can "take this".
"Of course, they can," he continued. "Real life is much worse. These are just jokes. They don't mean anything. They're just for you to laugh for an hour or so. So that's why I deal in taboo subjects."
However, LGBT+ rights group GLAAD slammed the comic and branded his show as "dangerous", "anti-gay" and "anti-trans" after its release. They also criticized Netflix for allowing the show to feature on its streaming service.
"We watched the Ricky Gervais ‘comedy’ special on Netflix so you don’t have to," they wrote. "It’s full of graphic, dangerous, anti-trans rants masquerading as jokes. He also spouts anti-gay rhetoric and spreads inaccurate information about HIV."
"Netflix has a policy that content ‘designed to incite hate or violence is not allowed on their platform, but we all know that anti-LGBTQ content does exactly that. While Netflix is home to some groundbreaking LGBTQ shows, it refuses to enforce its own policy in comedy."
"The LGBTQ community and our allies have made it very clear that so-called comedians who spew hate in place of humor, and the media companies who give them a platform, will be held accountable. Meanwhile, there are PLENTY of funny LGBTQ comedians to support," they concluded.