Ricky Gervais announces new world tour Mortality that will 'laugh at death'
Ricky Gervais has proved he doesn’t fear being ‘cancelled’ again as he announced his new world tour and Netflix special, Ricky Gervais: Mortality, which will “laugh at the absurdities of death”.
Last year, the comedian sparked outrage with his Netflix special, Armageddon, which included jokes about asylum seekers and terminally ill children.
The Office star faced backlash after he referred to sick children as “baldies” and questioned the wishes of those meeting him through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, asking them, “Why don't you wish to get better?” in one widely shared clip on social media.
Teasing his upcoming tour, Gervais said: “We're all gonna die. c. Mortality looks at the absurdities of life. And death. Bring it on.”
The tour is set to kick off later this year, with dates yet to be revealed. and will be filmed for his latest Netflix special of the same name.
The tour will kick off later this year and run through 2025 (Ray Burmiston)
It marks Gervais' fourth special with the streamer. Last year, Armageddon topped Netflix's most-watched list, earning him the inaugural Golden Globe for stand-up comics.
Prior to this, his international tour broke records, including selling out 85 arena dates.
In December, Gervais defended a joke he made in his comedy special about terminally ill children, telling critics he wished them "luck" in getting it removed.
In the wake of the snippet appearing online, a Change.org petition was launched demanding Netflix remove the sketch from Armageddon, which was released on Christmas Day.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live with Nihal Arthanayake about using the word "baldy" in the skit, the 63-year-old said: “In that little sketch, I’m becoming an idiot who would say that, and I don’t do that. I even say that in the skit.
“That’s why ‘I’m offended’ is quite meaningless because what’s your argument? What do you want me to change? You’ve said you don’t like it, that’s fair enough.”
When asked if he had seen the petition, the comedian said: “Good luck, that’s what I say to them. Good luck, I’ll even retweet it.”
Gervais said he feels he needs to stop explaining his jokes to those who say they are offended by them.
He added: “I do what’s funniest for the joke. I’ll pretend to be right-wing, I’ll pretend to be left-wing … whatever’s funniest for the joke, the routine to get my point across.
“And some people are confused by that because some people think that a joke is a window to the comedian’s true soul. It’s just not true. It’s a joke. No one thinks that with puns.
“Just because I deal in sort of realism and taboo subjects they think I mean it more than I would if I was doing a silly playground job and I think I’ve got to stop explaining myself because I’ve noticed something that happens, of all the millions of people that watched it and loved it, a few don’t like it.
“If I give them special attention and try and placate them and try and explain to them, I’ve annoyed the other millions of people that got the joke, they’re offended. They go ‘No, you’ve ruined it for us.’ So, 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 was playing to 20,000 people and some person shouted, I wouldn’t stop the show and explain to them. I ignore them.”
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