Actor-Comedian Ricky Gervais is once again taking heat from transgender activists after he made a joke about the recent J.K. Rowling controversy in which the Harry Potter author was blasted for voicing support for biological sex over transgender ideology.
Now Gervais is facing his own backlash, with the Hollywood media attempting to turn the social media storm into a reason to get him fired from hosting the Golden Globes telecast in January.
Gervais posted a sarcastic tweet Friday in response to the SJW-parody account Jarvis Dupont, which mocked the negative criticisms of Rowling.
“Those awful biological women can never understand what it must be like for you becoming a lovely lady so late in life,” Gervais jokingly responded. “They take their girly privileges for granted. Winning at female sports and having their own toilets. Well, enough is enough.”
This isn’t the first time that Gervais as run afoul of transgender activists.
In October, Gervais responded to criticism that he mocked Canadian transgender woman Jessica Yaniv, who had earlier sued a group of beauticians for refusing to perform a Brazilian wax on Yaniv’s male genitalia.
“I don’t try to offend, but the more people are offended by a joke, particularly on twitter, the funnier I find it,” he tweeted. “And the angrier the tweet, the more chance of me using it and turning it to laughs and cash. PC culture isn’t killing comedy. It’s driving it. As it always did.”
The comedian was also blasted for his 2018 Netflix stand-up special Humanity, in which he made a number of jokes about Caitlyn Jenner.
Gervais’ most recent comments concerning the Rowling controversy have ignited an avalanche of negative social media feedback, with some people accusing Gervais of transphobia.
The comedian defended himself, saying the tweet was meant as a joke. He later got serious, saying that activists are trying “to create their own blasphemy laws” in order to silence their ideological opponents and even get them fired.
The Hollywood media have joined the social media pile-on by linking Gervais’ comments to his upcoming gig hosting the Golden Globes in what appears to be an effort to get him booted off the show.
Variety called Gervais’ tweets “seemingly transphobic” before noting in the next paragraph that the comedian is still set to host the NBC telecast on Jan. 5. The trade magazine said it has reached out to The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., which organizes the awards show.
“Gervais’ selection as Golden Globes host prompted some raised eyebrows when it was announced considering his history of controversial joke material, particularly jokes at the expense of trans individuals,” Variety noted.