Ricky Gervais risks being cancelled with dicey Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
The After Life creator received the honour on Friday, following in the footsteps of thousands of showbiz greats, from Destiny's Child and Bob Marley to Sir Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.
Or, if you're Ricky, perhaps you'd rather focus on some more controversial recipients…
During his speech at the ceremony, the 63-year-old, famous for joking about taboo topics, decided to risk public cancellation once more.
He joked about how grateful he is to have his star sitting alongside some other legends of the business, naming Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, and Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, all of whom have been accused of sexual misconduct.
'Thank you so much for this honour,' Ricky began, as per Variety.
'It's a genuine thrill to be part of such an exclusive club.
'And just looking around earlier at all the other stars, absolute icons, you know? Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Fatty Arbuckle…'
Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, has been accused of sexually abusing children at his Neverland ranch, which his estate has continued to deny. In 2005, further child molestation charges went to court, but the singer was acquitted.
Director Arbuckle, who died in 1933, was taken to court three times in the 1920s for the rape and manslaughter of actress Virginia Rappe. He was also acquitted and received a written apology from the third jury.
Meanwhile, Cosby was convicted of rape in 2018 and spent just under three years in prison following a highly publicised trial. He maintains his innocence, with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court later overturning his conviction.
Elsewhere in his acceptance speech, Ricky said sarcastically, 'Wow, this is a huge surprise. I never thought I'd win this today.'
'I haven't even prepared a speech or anything,' he quipped, pulling out a piece of paper.
Sporting his trademark black T-shirt and jeans, he added: 'I should firstly apologise for how I'm dressed. This isn't me trying to be cool or disrespectful to the establishment. This is me not having a suit that fits anymore.'
The comedian went on to say the nature of his job is being 'not very good at taking things too seriously'.
But his speech did include a more earnest moment as he said receiving his star made him feel 'humbled'.
He added that his success was a combination of 'luck, persistence, and a little bit of pushing against the tide'.
Ricky's addition to the landmark in Los Angeles makes him the 2,813th dedication on the Walk of Fame.
He has enjoyed a lengthy career, having created and starred in The Office on BBC, Life's Too Short, and Derek.
The stand-up star has won seven Baftas, four Emmys, and four Golden Globes, having hosted the ceremony of the latter several times.
Throughout his career, he's been no stranger to a risky joke.
In 2023, over 12,000 people signed a petition calling for Netflix to axe his comedy special Armageddon before it was even released after a teaser clip showed him making gags about terminally ill children and using the R-slur.
Immediately after the offensive joke, Ricky told the audience of the show: 'These are all jokes, all right? I don't even use that word in real life, the R-word. … I'm playing a role.'
Ricky was later quizzed on the divisive material, telling BBC Radio 5 Live listeners that the outrage against him was 'faux'. He also compared the petitioners to 'hecklers'.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
'I can play to a million people, I won't get a complaint. As soon as it goes on Netflix or as soon as someone writes up a joke that says this is offensive, people go, 'Oh, that's offensive',' he said. More Trending
'They haven't even heard the joke. They weren't there. Ignore them. They don't count. They have no effect on me. They don't count. They're hecklers.'
Ricky also previously faced backlash for his SuperNature movie, in which he made remarks about trans people, female comedians, and AIDS.
Addressing the matter afterwards on The One Show, Ricky argued: '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.
'Most offence comes from when people mistake the subject of a joke with the actual target.'
Got a story?
If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
MORE: Trump reveals if he's willing to pardon ex-pal Diddy if convicted of sex trafficking
MORE: Dolly Parton reveals 'mixed emotions' about new tribute musical
MORE: Taylor Swift fans 'heartbroken' as singer reveals bittersweet news in emotional message
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
15 minutes ago
- Metro
Adolescence star Ashley Walters was 'banned from US due to criminal record'
From Top Boy to Bulletproof and Adolescence, it's fair to say that Ashley Walters is one of the shining talents in British acting today. Through sheer determination, the 43-year-old, who was born in south London, has forged a lucrative pathway for himself in the industry. Following the breakout success of Philip Barantini's Emmy-nominated Adolescence on Netflix, which starred Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper, Walters is currently working on an M. Night Shyamalan supernatural thriller called Remain alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. This came after Steven Spielberg's office called him asking him to consider a role in his latest film. However, many fans might not realise that this is Ashley's first ever major role in a US movie. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Speaking to Variety, the actor shed light on his long journey to success and how he was 'basically banned' from America for two decades due to his criminal record. 'Five years ago there was absolutely no chance that I was going to be in this position,' Ashley told the publication. 'I was basically banned from the country. There were visa issues. I had a criminal record.' In 2002, Walters – who was just 19 – was sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders institution for possession of an illegal firearm. Despite having already appeared on a number of TV roles, including BBC's Grange Hill, after his first acting role at the age of 10 in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Walters was known for being in the hip hop group the So Solid Crew. In the end, he only ended up serving seven months of his sentence after promising to focus on acting. He said: 'After a few years of not being able to get a visa, I said to myself, 'Well, it's not going to happen for me, I've got to make do with what I've got and fulfil my career and my destiny here in the U.K.' So I kind of stopped worrying about it.' Taking that advice, he began to build his acting profile, winning best newcomer at the British Independent Film Award for his lead performance in Saul Dibb's Bullet Boy in 2004. Other roles included Speed Racer and 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin, which was filmed in Ireland. His career then truly began to take off after the 2011 gangland drama series Top Boy, which was pulled from Channel 4 in 2014, but flourished again on Netflix five years later. View More » Now, with numerous opportunities presenting themselves to him in the States, Ashley concluded by saying: 'It's another reason why I cherish this moment so much. I want to do everything I can before someone takes away that visa on my passport.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: TV fans convinced heart-racing Netflix thriller shows 'Suranne Jones at her best' MORE: Top Boy actor Micheal Ward charged with rape and sexual assault MORE: WWE star demonstrates how broken finger 'still won't bend from knuckle to tip'
Scottish Sun
16 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
BBC star reveals shock plans to leave TV as he reveals major career move
CELEBRITY chef Nick Nairn revealed he's swapped pans for pots — to plant and grow his own produce. The famous cook, who spent 30 years in showbiz, said he doesn't miss a TV career. 4 Nick Nairn is focusing on his gardening. Credit: Andrew Barr 4 He's taken a step back from TV work. Credit: Andrew Barr 4 The cook school has been training chefs for 25 years. Credit: Andrew Barr 4 The TV star teaches two classes a week. Credit: Andrew Barr And he admitted: 'If I never stood in front of a camera again, it wouldn't bother me.' Nick, who found fame on Ready, Steady Cook and Wild Harvest in the mid-90s, suffered a bitter blow when his Nairn's restaurant in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, closed last year. But as part of his lifestyle overhaul, he is now reinvesting in his famous cook school and ploughing his efforts into cultivating his own ingredients. Nick — who co-hosted The Great Food Guys with Dougie Vipond for four series until 2021 and often guested on pal James Martin's shows, including STV's Saturday Morning — says: 'When I was younger, I was ambitious. I liked the money. 'I liked the fame. I liked the whole lifestyle thing. But my whole philosophy has changed. I've been there and done it and honestly, if I never stood in front of a camera again, it wouldn't bother me. 'Because there's a huge amount of time travelling and hanging about with television. Don't get me wrong, I was very lucky. 'Filming's taken me all over the world to Australia, New Zealand, America and Canada, and I've enjoyed it immensely, but I'm 66 now. I'm an old age pensioner. 'So now I do three days a week in my garden and two classes a week in my cook school and I absolutely love it.' Former merchant seaman Nick, from Port of Menteith, Stirlingshire, couldn't even boil an egg until he was 24. But he taught himself to cook on a four-ring electric stove before going into the hospitality trade in 1986. He earned his first coveted Michelin star in 1991, at the age of 31, making him the youngest Scots chef to be awarded the culinary accolade at the time. In 2000, he opened the Nick Nairn Cook School by the Lake of Menteith, which boomed when financial institutions started using it for team-building exercises. But his first major crisis struck with the credit crunch in 2008, as panic in the banking markets swept the globe. 'Devastated' Gregg Wallace FIRED by BBC over MasterChef sexual comments He recalls: 'We're fully booked for six months ahead, and the next minute the phone was going every five seconds with companies cancelling their bookings.' Unperturbed, Nick decided to branch out and open a second cook school in Aberdeen in 2012. He ploughed hundreds of thousands of pounds into the venture, later opening Nick's Pizza Bar in the Granite City, too. He says: 'Aberdeen was still very buoyant as oil and gas was doing really well. 'But opening the cook school was a lot of hard work and business was slow to start with. 'Then it really took off in 2013 and we had two amazing years where we were packed out seven days a week. 'Of course, in 2015 we had the oil price crash. Oil went from $110 to $28 a barrel overnight, and our businesses came to a shuddering halt.' But worse followed in 2017, when Nick was injured in a street attack by oil worker Scott Smith. Thug Smith was later fined £900 after admitting the assault, which left Nick with two black eyes and a bloody nose. He says: 'As well as getting assaulted by some drunk in the street, I then tripped in a hotel and broke my ankle and finger.' The chef decided to make a real go of the restaurant business, opening Nick's in Bridge of Allan in February 2020 — a month before Covid saw the entire world grind to a halt. Then, in August 2021, a faulty fryer caused a huge blaze in the packed restaurant, gutting the premises. Incredibly, no one was hurt. Nick, who lives with his third wife Julia, explains: 'One of the chefs screamed, 'Get out'. 'I think everybody thought it was a terrorist attack, so they jumped up and left their phones and coats. 'I was cooking in Port of Menteith so my wife headed off to Bridge of Allan. She could see a big plume of smoke from miles away — that was literally our business going up in smoke.' After a full refurbishment, Nick's reopened as Nairn's in July 2023. The whole sorry saga ended last year amid an alleged 'bitter row' with the restaurant's landlord. Amid the upheaval, Nick's Port of Menteith cook school had also flooded in 2021. So it's little wonder the chef is enjoying a quieter life. He is focusing on his beloved first cook school, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Nick, who also runs The Kailyard in Hilton's Dunblane Hydro, says: 'Everything has come full circle. I'd almost become a full-time telly chef and my work took me away from home a lot of the time. 'But Lake of Menteith is kind of like paradise. I have a big polytunnel covering 100 square metres and I have my raised beds outside and just love growing my own produce. 'We cook everything from scratch. I love it. TV got in the way of this before, but it won't again.' For more information on Nick Nairn's Cook School or restaurant, visit
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
BBC under fire for making six-part podcast series about notorious crime queen 'Big Mags' Haney
The BBC has been criticised after it emerged it is to air a six-part podcast on notorious drug dealer 'Big Mags' Haney. The convicted dealer ran a brutal heroin empire for years while posing as a community hero. Haney, who died in 2013, aged 70, first came to the media's attention when she led a campaign to remove a paedophile from the notorious Raploch estate in Stirling. But she was eventually jailed for her role in a £250,000-a-year drugs operation from her home on the estate. And now the BBC has been criticised after announcing a six-part podcast charting the rise and fall of the crime queen. In The Ballad of Big Mags, journalist Myles Bonnar will explore the life of the clan figurehead, who even appeared on daytime TV show Kilroy to discuss keeping children safe. Mr Bonnar said: 'Mags Haney's rise to prominence and her dramatic fall after revelations of her criminal activities, was a story which played out in the media over years. 'The series not only examines her contradictory life but also wider issues of mob justice, community dynamics, poverty, and the creation of the so-called media personality. 'Many people only partially know the story of this controversial figure and this series will give a full account of how she rose to fame and became a source of fascination to the media and public before her criminal life was exposed.' But Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservative shadow business, economy, tourism and culture secretary, said: 'Eyebrows will be raised at the BBC's decision to give airtime to a woman who used her celebrity status to cover up a major heroin operation. 'Many taxpayers will question why their license fee is going towards platforming this controversial figure, particularly at a time when BBC budgets are squeezed.' Haney first grabbed the headlines as a self-styled anti-paedophile campaigner while running the heroin empire in the 1990s. She claimed she 'just wanted to help folk' in the community, she was eventually exposed as the leader of a notorious crime clan dubbed the 'family from hell'. Behind her matriarch public image, the grandmother used her own children and grandchildren to sell around £24,000-worth of heroin from her council flat each month. She was jailed for 12 years in 2003 after being convicted of running a large-scale heroin dealing operation in Stirling. Annemarie Ward, CEO of drugs charity FAVOR UK, added: 'The media's fixation with gangland nostalgia might make for gripping listening, but it rarely tells the truth about the lives destroyed by this kind of chaos. 'Recovery communities across Scotland are still cleaning up the devastation. We don't need another folk anti-hero: we need truth, justice, and a bit of respect for the people trying to build a different future.' A spokesperson for BBC Scotland said: 'The podcast series takes a detailed look at a story which was in the public spotlight for a significant period and was covered by many media outlets, including newspapers. 'Contributors include journalists, police, and members of the community, who give new insights into how Mags Haney positioned herself as a protector of the Raploch estate while concealing her criminal activities. 'The series is also about wider issues such as mob justice, community dynamics, poverty, and how the media operated in that era.' The six part series will be available on BBC Sounds from Friday 8 August.
