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After Will Smith infamously smacked Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, social media debated whether the incident would’ve happened had another comic hosted the event. One name that came up frequently was comedian Ricky Gervais, who responded by teasing his proposed Oscars speech in a series of tweets with thousands of likes.
“I’d start with ‘Hello,’” wrote the 60-year-old creator of “The Office,” who has MCed the Golden Globes five times, but never the Academy Awards.
The comic continued, “I hope this show helps cheer up the ordinary people watching at home. If you’re unemployed for example, take some comfort in the fact that even if you had a job, your salary probably wouldn’t be as much as the goody bag all the actors have just been given.”
Gervais was lampooning the pornographic displays of wealth at the Academy Awards. This year’s Oscars swag bag reportedly cost $137,000 and included a $12,000 liposuction operation, $25,000 in home renovations and a small plot of land in Scotland, along with the title Lord or Lady of Glencoe.
Later on, the “Afterlife” star satirized the Oscars’ emphasis on diversity, snarking: “I’m proud to announce that this is the most diverse and progressive Oscars ever.”
“Looking out I see people from all walks of life,” he added. “Every demographic under the sun. Except poor people, obviously. F–k them.”
The trial speech surfaced following the infamous Oscars “Hitch” slap, which occurred after Rock, 57, cracked a bald wisecrack about Smith’s actress wife Jada Pinkett Smith, who’s been open about her ongoing struggle with alopecia. In response, Smith, 53, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his work in “King Richard” later that evening, strolled onto the stage and slapped the comic across the face — before taking a seat and warning Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your f–king mouth.”
Following the on-stage smackdown, Gervais retweeted a clip from the British “Office,” in which his character David Brent makes an “alopecia” joke about an employee.
In a January interview with “The View,” the Emmy winner revealed that he’ll probably never host the Academy Awards.
“I might be allowed to host [the Oscars] if I did what I was told, but there’s the rub,” said the “Extras” creator told host Sunny Hostin, Deadline reported. “The good thing about the Globes was [that] they said I could write my own jokes, say what I want, and not rehearse.”
He added, “And that is just too good for a comedian to turn down, whereas I don’t think the Oscars would ever allow me that freedom, and rightly so. I think they would be mad.”
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