There's a laundry list of people in politics that we could consider true champions of Western civilization, but I think we get too few of them in the entertainment sector.
In my honest opinion, Ricky Gervais is one of those people who, just by being himself, improves the socio-political condition of America and the U.K. That may seem like excessive praise to give someone, but after watching him for a while, I'm not entirely sure I'm off.
Gervais doesn't get a lot of credit for how much he's actually helped shape Western entertainment just by virtue of being the creator of The Office, a British sitcom that would be recreated here in America and would go on to redefine the sitcom genre for years. Even now, it still heavily influences many shows, both professional and independent.
And I find it kind of funny that someone effectively defined 2010s comedy, yet what he's really known for isn't the programs he created and is winning endless awards for; it's what he says during his comedy specials and hosting gigs that truly gets everyone's attention.
You know what moment I'm about to bring up without me having to mention it, because you practically know this Gervais moment verbatim off the top of your head.
At the 2020 Golden Globes, Gervais told an entire room of elitist Hollywood actors, producers, directors, and studio heads what we've been trying to tell them all along:
"So if you do win an award tonight, don't use it as a platform to make a political speech. You're in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So, if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your god, f**k off. Okay?"
A huge congratulations to @rickygervais for winning the ceremony's first-ever award for Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television at the #GoldenGlobes.
— The Ricky Gervais Clips (@gervaisclips) January 8, 2024
If only he was also hosting again.
pic.twitter.com/n9PqvjYWaZ
This single moment has followed every single Hollywood actor around for years. If any of them get up and give some sort of political virtue signal while accepting an award, or even make a speech on the red carpet, you can practically set your watch to this Gervais speech being posted somewhere online in conjunction with it or in response.
And every time it happens, it further erodes how seriously we take these celebrities. Gervais's moment here has been absolute poison to Hollywood pomposity, and it's because Gervais put the people's voice on the finger wagging received by these out-of-touch elitists into one single moment and forced it down their throats when they couldn't escape it.
Gervais is of the philosophy that your feelings mean nothing to anyone else. As he once said in an interview, thinking that you should go through life without being challenged with something you disagree with or don't like is absolute arrogance.
And it's that philosophy that has had him speaking up in ways that completely blow the lid off of the political correctness we tend to dress things in, and it never comes from a position of hate for Gervais. As he says, he never tries to approach anything in a manner of making someone clutch their pearls or hurt their feelings. He always comes at his comedy from the perspective of challenging someone with offense to make them think about their position and come up with a new argument.
And that is, in my opinion, a healthy mindset to have.
Everyone takes offense to something, and I think the more offense you take, the more you're challenged to improve your arguments about your position on a thing. It's good intellectual exercise, which I think is something the West could use more of, given its penchant for finding a corner and retreating to it in the age of the internet.
I think people like Gervais are necessary to civilization. While many people may agree with him, very few people have his platform, his wit, and his bravery in one package.
I look at people like Gervais as sort of societal doctors. They cut with a very sharp knife, but the knife is a scalpel, not a dagger. The only idea he wants to kill is the sacred cow, which absolutely needs to die if a free society is to function properly. He makes fun of the things we're not supposed to because if we don't, then those things become too powerful and dictate how we speak to each other, how we behave in public places, and even how some corporations function.
He's the guy who points out the emperor isn't wearing any clothes.
Gervais probably doesn't hold a lot of the same political opinions I do. I know he and I are on opposite sides when it comes to Christianity, but we seem to both agree that Western culture is just the absolute best and its principles should be defended at every turn, even at the cost of becoming a pariah.
Also, we both seem to agree that anyone who doesn't like dogs *cough* Islam *cough* can take a hike.
This wasn't allowed in public incase it offended anyone.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) February 16, 2026
So please don't retweet it. Thanks 🙏https://t.co/1stbtsOxvz pic.twitter.com/LvJ9pTgmnA
Read: Dogs Continue to Win the PR Battle Against Islam by Just Being Dogs
Ricky, I salute you.
