Ricky Gervais Hosting the 2016 Golden Globes: His 19 Most Controversial Jokes About Hollywood

From taking digs at Jodie Foster to slamming Adam Sandler, the Extras funny man has never shied away from ruffling celeb feathers

By Jenna Mullins Oct 26, 2015 10:51 PMTags
Ricky Gervais, Golden GlobesPaul Drinkwater/NBC

Clutch those pearls and put that hand over that censor button. Ricky Gervais is back to host the Golden Globes!

He insisted in 2011 that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association wouldn't ask him back to host the annual award show that honors both TV and film, but lo and behold! He's back for not a second or third time, but a fourth time!

Hollywood better gird its loins, because as you probably remember, the Emmy-winning funny man did not hold back at all when faced with a room full of the celeb elite during previous Golden Globes. Jodie Foster, Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr., Angelina Jolie…no one was safe.

To prepare for more of his hosting jabs, here are the 19 most controversial jokes made by the Gervais during his previous Golden Globes hosting gigs:

Todd Antony/NBC

1. "Actors aren't just loved here in Hollywood, they are loved the world over. You could be in the third world and get a glimpse of a Hollywood star and it could make you feel a little bit better. You could be a little Asian child with no possessions and no money. But you could see a picture of Angelina Jolie and you'd think, ‘Mummy!'" (2010) 

2. "I hope I haven't offended anyone. It's not my fault. I like a drink as much as the next man. Unless the next man is Mel Gibson." (2010)

3. On the Lost series finale: "I'm not sure I totally understood it all, but from what I could make out, I'm pretty sure the fat one ate them all." (2011)

4. "It's going to be a night of partying and heavy drinking, or as Charlie Sheen calls it: breakfast." (2011)

5. "It was a big year for 3D movies. Toy Story, Despicable Me, Tron. It seemed like everything this year was three-dimensional. Except the characters in The Tourist." (2011)

Virginia Sherwood/NBC

6. Introducing Bruce Willis: "You know our next presenter from such films as Hudson Hawk, Look Who's Talking, Mercury Rising, Color of Night, The Fifth Element, Hart's War. Please welcome Ashton Kutcher's dad, Bruce Willis." (2011)

7. On I Love You Phillip Morris: "Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, two heterosexual actors pretending to be gay. So the complete opposite of some famous Scientologists, then. My lawyers helped with that joke." (2011)

8. Introducing Robert Downey Jr.: "He has done all of those films, but many of you in this room probably know him best from such facilities as The Betty Ford Clinic and the Los Angeles County Jail. Robert Downey, Jr.!" (2011)

9. "Talking of the walking dead, congratulations to Hugh Hefner, who is getting married at age 84 to 24-year-old beauty Crystal Harris. When asked why she was marrying him, she said, 'He lied about his age. He told me he was 94'. Just don't look at it when you touch it." (2011)

10. "I was sure the Golden Globe for special effects would go to the team that airbrushed [the Sex and City 2] poster." (2011)

Paul Drinkwater/NBC

11. Introducing Tom Hanks and Tim Allen: "What can I say about our next two presenters? The first is an actor, producer, writer and director whose movies have grossed over $3.5 billion at the box office. He's won two Academy Awards and three Golden Globes for his powerful and varied performances starring in such films as Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Castaway, Apollo 13 and Saving Private Ryan. The other is Tim Allen." (2011)

12. Introducing Scarlett Johansson: "Our first presenter is beautiful, talented, and Jewish apparently. Mel Gibson told me that. He's obsessed. Please welcome Scarlett Johansson." (2011)

13. "And I'm not to libel anyone. And I must not mention Mel Gibson this year. Not his private life, his politics, his recent films, and especially not Jodie Foster's Beaver. I haven't seen it myself. I spoken to a lot of guys here, they haven't seen it either. That doesn't mean it's not any good." (2012)

14. "What's with all the divorces? What's going on? Arnold and Maria, J.Lo and Marc Anthony, Ashton and Demi. Kim Kardashian and some guy no one will remember. He wasn't around long. 72 days. A marriage that lasted 72 days. I've sat through longer James Cameron acceptance speeches." (2012)

Todd Antony/NBC

15. On Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas: "I don't know because I can't understand a f--king word they're saying." (2012)

16. "Bit of trivia for you. Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler between them played all the parts in the movie The Help. Isn't that brilliant? They were brilliant. I cant believe they're not here. Or maybe they are. They're masters of disguise." (2012)

17. Introducing Melissa McCarthy: "She made her mark in comedy this summer by defecating into a sink. Amazingly, that's still less demeaning than what most of you have done to make it in show business." (2012)

18. "Justin Bieber nearly had to take a paternity test. What a waste of a test that would have been. No, he's not the father. The only way that he could impregnate a girl was if he borrowed one of Martha Stewart's old turkey basters." (2012)

19. To Johnny Depp: "I want to ask you a question. And be honest. Are you on recreational drugs? I'm joking, that's not the question. And we all know the answer. Have you seen The Tourist yet?" (2012)

Who else is excited to see what happens during Ricky vs. Hollywood: Round 4?!

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