Golden Globes 2016: watch Ricky Gervais' opening monologue as he mocks Sean Penn, Caitlyn Jenner

The ceremony's host started things off with some stale jabs at Jennifer Lawrence and Matt Damon's The Martian

After months of endless hype, 2016's Golden Globes were supposedly going to see Ricky Gervais go "off the chain" and tear down the Hollywood elite from their ivory towers. 

And, yet, apparently the best he can do is call everyone in Hollywood, "pill-popping, sexual deviant scum." Ooh, so edgy. So dangerous!

To give him a little credit, Gervais was at least quick to capitalise on the breaking news that Sean Penn's interview with El Chapo had led to his arrest. The comedian quipped, "I want to do this monologue, then go into hiding. Not even Sean Penn will find me. Snitch.”



He did also attempt to express support for pay equality whilst joking, “All-female remakes are the big thing. There’s a female remake of Ghostbusters. There’s going to be a female remake of Ocean’s 11. This is brilliant for the studios, because they get guaranteed box office results and they don’t have to spend too much money on the cast.”

Shame that he missed the entire point of Jennifer Lawrence's fight for equality by stating, "Jennifer Lawrence made the news when she demanded equal pay for women in Hollywood and she received overwhelming support from people everywhere. There were marches on the street with nurses and factory workers saying, ‘How the hell can a 25-year-old live on $52 million?’”

Then there were the offensive comments towards Caitlyn Jenner as he sniped, "She didn't do a lot for women drivers. But you can't have everything, can you? Not at the same time." Gervais is referencing a multi-car accident Jenner was involved in back in February, which left one woman dead. 
 

He also received backlash on social media for referring to Jenner as "Bruce", before going on to joke about Jeffrey Tambor's portrayal of a trans woman on Transparent, "Every day he has to put on all the women's clothes and the hair and makeup and let people film it," said Gervais. "That takes balls. I don't know how he does it. I really don't. I've seen his balls — they're huge, and long. I don't know if he tucked them in the bra or does that thing where you push them out the back and let them hang out, like a bulldog — no one knows."
 

Hollywood needs to be taken down a peg, but the LGBT community and women fighting for equality are the most vulnerable, and undeserving targets Gervais could have possibly chosen.