British comedian and actor Ricky Gervais tore into the left Wednesday, asking why he’s suddenly condemned as an “alt right Nazi” for defending free speech.
“I’m an old fashioned liberal lefty, champagne socialist type of guy. A pro-equality, opportunity-for-all, welfare state snowflake. But, if I ever defend freedom of speech on here, I’m suddenly an alt right nazi. How did that happen?” Ricky Gervais said.
Indeed, the U.K. Office star has repeatedly expressed his views as a liberal and an atheist, but has also shown support for free speech and spoken out against political correctness. In 2016, he predicted President Trump’s victory due to the forces of political correctness in modern America.
“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 said.
More recently, Gervais went on a social media tirade in support of Louis C.K. after a leaked set of his took the internet by storm.
During the set, the former Louie star can be heard joking about “non-binary” people and the Parkland survivors.
“[Young people] are just boring. Fucking telling, ‘You shouldn’t say that.’ What are you, an old lady? What are you fucking doing?” he said.
“‘Nyeah, that’s not appropriate.’ Fuck you! You’re a child! Why aren’t you finger-fucking each other and doing Jell-O shots?”
Gervais responded to the backlash against C.K., saying, “Please stop saying ‘You can’t joke about anything anymore.’ You can.”
“You can joke about whatever the fuck you like. And some people won’t like it and they will tell you they don’t like it. And then it’s up to you whether you give a fuck or not. And so on. It’s a good system.”
The 57-year-old also defended offensive comedy in general, saying, “There is no subject out of bounds. People often get offended when they mistake the subject of a joke with the actual target. It all depends on the joke.”