Ricky Gervais tells celebs to avoid politics at Golden Globes: 'You know nothing about the real world'

Gibson Johns
Updated ·2 min read
Ricky Gervais tells celebs to avoid politics at Golden Globes: 'You know nothing about the real world'
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Ricky Gervais opened the 2020 Golden Globes on Sunday night with a bang, delivering a string of scathing jokes that called out Hollywood, streaming services and the Hollywood Foreign Press, leaving the star-studded audience stunned.

Towards the end of his opening monologue, the British comedian preemptively asked the night's winners not to make political statements during their acceptance speeches, telling them they were "in no position" to make such statements due to their privileged places in society in a joke that alluded to 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg.

"You're in no position to lecture the public about anything," he declared. "You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg."

Gervais' especially fearless approach to his monologue came during his fifth time hosting the Golden Globes, which he said would his his "last time" doing so.

"I don't care anymore!" he said to kick off the head-turning delivery.

Topics that Gervais hit on during his 9-minute opening included the college admissions scandal ("I came here in a limo tonight and the license plate was made by Felicity Huffman."), the #MeToo movement ("They all have one thing in common," he said of the audience. "They're all terrified of Ronan Farrow.") and the lack of diversity in this year's nominations ("The Hollywood Foreign Press are all very, very racist.").

He also declared it "a big year for pedophile movies," citing "Leaving Neverland" about Michael Jackson's alleged victims, television show "Surviving R. Kelly" and "Two Popes."

Perhaps one of the most eyebrow-raising moments came when he accused several companies with highly-nominated streaming services like Apple and Amazon of running sweat shops. After Gervais delivered the quip, the camera cut to Apple CEO Tim Cook, who was there to support "The Morning Show" and didn't look too enthused.

Another moment that garnered reactions on Twitter was his no-holds-barred joke about Jeffrey Epstein, which resulted in gasps from the star-studded audience.