Ricky Gervais: I was shocked that people found my Golden Globes jokes controversial
"Do I pander to 200 fragile egos in the room or 200 million people watching at home?"
Ricky Gervais, whose hosting of the Golden Globes is famed for its near-the-knuckle jokes, has already apologised in advance for his material at this year's awards – but it turns out that he was genuinely shocked that his jokes ever caused such a fuss in the first place.
"I’ve never understood the controversy around the Golden Globes," he said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. "That stuff I did, I was shocked that people thought that was shocking. Genuinely. I thought, what have I said wrong? I didn’t say anything outrageous or libelous. I didn’t say anything against broadcasting rules. It was on network television, late afternoon, it couldn’t have been that bad."
He also added that he was more interested in entertaining the audiences at home than treading on eggshells around Hollywood celebrities.
"I made the decision: Do I pander to 200 fragile egos in the room or 200 million people watching at home? There’s nothing in it for the people watching at home. They’re not winning awards. It’s not a spectator sport watching other people win awards, so I tried to make it one."
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