Did Ricky Gervais Go Too Far? (Answer: NO!)

For example, The Los Angeles Times thought he completely crossed the line, and offered a scathing review:

The opposite of dull and deferential is not snotty and abusive.

Just a little notion someone might have mentioned to Ricky Gervais...as host of the 2011 Golden Globes.

This year, he...was making many audience members and presenters uncomfortable and even angry.

Gervais, on the other hand, was busy defining the role of the perfect host by defying it. Poking fun at big stars is in the job description. But televised teasing requires a lightness of touch or else it quickly becomes bullying.

 
On the flip side, IndieWire lauded Gervais' take no prisoners approach, pointing out that viewers were delighted, even if sensitive celebrities weren't:

If you were watching Ricky Gervais host the Golden Globes on Sunday, for the first hour you could tell you were watching a go-for-broke performance that would become —and I‘m not exaggerating – legendary, a benchmark by which other flameout hosting gigs are measured.

[There was an] obvious disconnect between what was happening in the room and the way most of us were responding at home. The jokes might have been more daring than funny, but the risk felt exhilarating because Gervais wasn’t being outrageous for its own sake. He was targeting the hypocrisy of Hollywood and the inanity and self-importance of awards themselves.

It was jaw-dropping fun to watch.

Now, as you might know from my live-blogging the Globes, I enjoyed Gervais immensely (and I'm not alone -- the show even got a ratings bump). I completely agree with IndieWire and scores of grateful viewers who took to the Internet to register their approval over the most entertaining award show we've been treated to in quite some time! Let's face it, these shows are usually a snoozefest and Gervais had us paying close attention to see whom he'd skewer next. He also has us talking about it the next day, which is the sign of a successful host.

Also, I don't feel sorry for thin-skinned celebrities. Give me a break. These people make millions, are constantly being told how wonderful they are, and get together at award shows to congratulate themselves. That's not terribly entertaining for the millions of viewers they're supposed to be entertaining. If the (nominal) price they pay for that privilege is a little ribbing, so what? Are these people so addled, they can't handle a few jokes? If I have to watch you sit in an opulent hotel, drink expensive alcohol, wear a fancy dress -- none of which you paid for -- and get trophies and applause for doing something you've already been overpaid to do, I think it's OK if I get to laugh at you just a little bit.

As of the writing of this article, no celebrity has issued a formal statement criticizing Gervais. Yet some columnists have proven to be celeb-whores by taking umbrage on behalf of the mocked and the supposedly outraged. First, are these columnists upset that Gervais aired dirty laundry? Because um...none of it was anything we didn't already know. Celebrities' messy bits are splashed all over Page Six, the evening news, and every manner of blog. Secondly, why blame Gervais for finding comedy in truth? Why not blame the stars for giving him such good material to begin with? If you're going to act a fool (treating rehab like a vacation, or getting arrested multiple times, or making bigoted remarks) you can't be that upset when someone makes a joke about it. And if you make a film that critics and audiences reject, you can't be that upset when someone doesn't pretend to like it. All I'm saying is, if you want to be the Big Kahuna, you gotta wax your own surfboard.

The trade-off for allowing celebrities to do stupid things and still remain celebrities is that every once in a while, we get to make fun of them for it. All these celebrity-sycophant columnists and entertainment journos who are self-righteously indignant at Gervais could stand to show some sense of humor, not to mention some self-awareness of celebrity privilege. If celebrities don't want people gossiping or laughing at them, all they have to do is not give us anything to gossip and laugh at. See how that works? Getting huffy at a comedian (or worse, lettting others get huffy for you) only reinforces the (already) socially-ensconced assumption that Hollywood is full of pampered pooches who are out of touch with reality. If the worse thing celebrities can endure is a joke while remaining rich and famous, then they're still luckier than everyone else on the planet.

Ricky Gervais did the impossible: he made an award show must-see TV (something NBC hasn't had since the 90s). He may never be allowed to host another one again, but that will only be our loss. For my money, there was nothing wrong with Gervais' jokes, but there is something very wrong with the people who can't take them.

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