Ricky Gervais says he told the Golden Globes not to ask him to host again

Comedian has hosted the awards ceremony five times

Ricky Gervais has said he told the Golden Globes not to ask him to host the awards again.

Gervais has hosted the annual film and TV awards ceremony five times, in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2020.

In a new interview with LadBible, the After Life star said that he did not want to be offered the role again.

Asked whether he would consider returning to hosting duties, Gervais said: “It could be the Golden Globes could offer me £10m for 10 minutes work, you know, and I’d be an idiot, I’d be a liar, to say I wouldn’t consider it.

“But at the moment, given I’ve done it five times, it got better and better for me – I enjoyed them all, but it got better – and I’m planning never to do it again.”

The 60-year-old added: “I’ve asked them not to ask me because I can be persuaded, that’s true. You know, it’s not a principle.”

On Monday (10 January), Gervais shared a clip from his last appearance at the Golden Globes. He captioned the post: “The good old days.”

His speech at the 2020 event famously poked fun at the stars in attendance at the awards ceremony.

“You say you’re woke but the companies you work for, I mean unbelievable – Apple, Amazon, Disney – if Isis started a streaming service, you’d call your agent,” said Gervais.

Instead of a live ceremony, this year’s Golden Globes – which took place on 9 January – was live-tweeted.

The event was marred by scandal, after Globes voting body the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was accused of a “culture of corruption”, where companies were allegedly able to buy nominations or wins.

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It was also pointed out that none of the voting members were Black, with a writer on Emily in Paris calling out the HFPA in an op-ed published in February last year for nominating her show and not the critically acclaimed I May Destroy You.

Many studios and notable figures openly criticised the HFPA, with Tom Cruise going so far as to return his three awards. Ultimately, NBC dropped the ceremony, meaning the 2022 edition was not televised.