British funnyman Ricky Gervais predicts that Donald Trump will win the presidency in November because the GOP frontrunner is the “antidote” in a time of “peak political correctness.”
In an essay for the Hollywood Reporter, the 54-year-old creator of the hit sitcom The Office wrote that Trump has a good chance at winning the general election because he “hit a vein” in tackling American cultural and political discourse head-on.
“I’ll admit it, I like Donald Trump’s speeches,” Gervais began. “I’ve made my fortune out of playing delusional, middle-aged men who say stupid things, and people love them. But he’s beaten me.”
“Trump is better than David Brent,” the proudly politically incorrect comedian said, referring to his Office character.
Gervais added that Trump’s popularity is a product of the increasingly censored culture that exists in America in 2016.
“People are tired of being told they can’t say things, so he’s suddenly this poster boy for saying what’s on your mind, however terrible it is,” he wrote. “And it’s going to go the other way. Trump’s going to get in, and suddenly there’s going to be 32 Jon Stewarts. It’s cyclical; people build their different armies.”
Gervais wrote that he only recently came to the conclusion that Trump could win the presidency, but added that he “should have realized sooner.”
“We live a world where there are warnings on bottles of bleach — we have to tell people not to drink bleach. In that world, Trump can be president,” he wrote. “And in a sense, you get what you deserve. That’s democracy, baby! It’s just a really odd thing to have this man who’s meant to be the most powerful man in the world act like a Twitter troll.”
Gervais has plenty of experience being the target of perpetually offended social justice warrior-types. In January, the comedian was called “transphobic” and “sexist” by critics after he delivered a joke about Bruce Jenner’s transition while hosting the Golden Globes.
Gervais joked then: “I’m going to be nice tonight. 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. She didn’t do a lot for women drivers. But you can’t have everything, can you? Not at the same time.”
In his THR essay, Gervais called criticism of the joke “ridiculous.”
“That joke is not transphobic at all, just like the Sex and the City joke [from a previous Golden Globes appearance] wasn’t ageist,” Gervais wrote. “You can’t just stick an ‘ist’ on the end of a subject and assume whenever that word is mentioned it is an ‘ist.'”
Read the rest of Gervais’ essay at the Hollywood Reporter here.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
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