“Please, please let her host the @goldenglobes, just don’t let her drive,” tweeted Ricky Gervais this morning.
After the beer-sipping British comedian made a controversial joke about Caitlyn Jenner at the Golden Globes last weekend — which some critics perceived as “transphobic” — he and Jenner have been exchanging barbed comments in the media.
Suggesting a joke about Caitlin Jenner is automatically transphobic is like suggesting a joke about Bill Cosby is automatically racist.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) January 12, 2016
During the awards ceremony on Sunday night, Gervais said, “I’ve changed. Not as much as Bruce Jenner, obviously. Now Caitlyn Jenner, of course. What a year she’s had. She became a role model for trans people everywhere, showing great bravery in breaking down barriers and destroying stereotypes.” He then made a joke about the fatal car accident Jenner was involved in last year, saying, “she didn’t do a lot for women drivers.”
After maintaining a very elegant silence for nearly a week, Caitlyn responded to a question about Gervais at a press conference in California yesterday. She said, “On Ricky, I think what I’m gonna do is call the Golden Globes and see if they need a new host for next year, and we’ll solve that problem.”
While Gervais continues to proudly tweet about his joke (his response to a news piece about Caitlyn breaking her silence: “At last. She always brakes too late.”), the silver lining is that maybe the Golden Globes will take Caitlyn up on her offer for 2017.
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Text Alice Newell-Hanson
Image via Flickr Creative Commons