Ricky Gervais reflects on infamous Golden Globes speech ahead of Hollywood Bowl return

Ricky Gervais has said he can’t wait to return to the Hollywood Bowl, three years after his notorious Golden Globes speech that took swipes at stars from Leonardo DiCaprio to James Corden.

The acerbic British comedian made headlines in 2020, after he roasted some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

It was his fifth and final time hosting the awards. Gervais decided not to hold back on ridiculing the nominees, repeatedly telling the audience: “I don’t care any more.”

In a new post on Twitter, Gervais shared a video of the eight-minute speech, with a crying-laughing emoji and the caption: “Can’t wait to bring Armageddon to the Hollywood Bowl in May. Last time I was there, this happened.”

Gervais is currently touring his comedy show Armageddon in the UK. It arrives in the US on 6 May, where the first stateside gig is at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

Last year, Gervais joked that he would report his fans “for hate crimes” for laughing at his new material.

His last Netflix stand-up special, Ricky Gervais: SuperNature, was given two stars by The Independent’s critic Nick Hilton, who wrote that “the comedian seems more comfortable with jokes that rely on a cheap shock factor rather than any emotional or creative truth”.

The LGBTQ advocacy organisation GLAAD issued a statement labelling his special “dangerous, anti-trans rants masquerading as jokes”.

It was also met with condemnation online over a series of remarks targeting the trans community.

In the wake of it coming out on the platform, a powerful clip from Nish Kumar’s 2019 stand-up show, in which he criticised Gervais for his jokes about transgender people, resurfaced on social media.