Ricky Gervais says people are mistaken about his humour: ‘They think every joke is a window to the comedian’s soul’

‘I’ll pretend to be right wing, left wing, whatever wing, no wing’

Ricky Gervais says people are mistaken about his brand of comedy.

The comedian spoke to The New York Times in an interview marking the second season of his show After Life on Netflix (read The Independent‘s review here).

Gervais was asked whether he has to “look over [his] shoulder” after delivering an irreverent performance such as the one he gave as the host of the Golden Globes in January this year.

“No, the world hasn’t changed. No one looks at me differently. And I’ve got nothing against those people, really,” Gervais said.

“I think that’s the mistake people make: They think that every joke is a window to the comedian’s soul – because I wrote it and performed it under my own name, that that’s really me. And that’s just not true.

“I’ll flip a joke halfway through and change my stance to make the joke better. I’ll pretend to be right wing, left wing, whatever wing, no wing.”

Gervais went on to compare himself to a “court jester” who has to “make sure that he doesn’t get executed as well”.

After Life began airing on Netflix in March 2019.

The Independent deemed its second season “puzzling” and overall lacklustre despite “flashes of comedy”.