What did Ricky Gervais say to Mel Gibson that got bleeped during the Golden Globes?
The better question, maybe, is what the hell was Mel Gibson doing at the Golden Globes in the first place?
The disgraced celebrity is these days less known for his filmography than for his (un)holy trinity of homophobic, racist, and anti-Semitic comments. That's not to mention pleading no contest to a domestic violence charge. Oh, and the voicemail to his ex wishing that she be raped by a “pack” of black men. Oh, and the DUI.
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He's been persona non grata for many things, the least of which was his calling a female police officer “sugar tits” during a 2006 drunk-driving arrest.
It's that latter remark that was at the climax of the unheard Globes moment, a joke from Ricky Gervais that was bleeped on live TV.
For all those curious, the line uttered by Ricky Gervais during a cringe-worthy, uncomfortable exchange between the host and his frequent comedy target was a question Gervais said has been on all of our minds these last 10 years: “What the fuck does sugar tits even mean?”
The ballroom gasped. Cate Blanchett’s razor-sharp cheeks blushed. Alan Cumming covered his mouth in disbelief. And the most despicable, trolling moment of the Globes’ recent history was finally over.
Leave it to Hollywood’s most notorious “star fucking” organization to invite one of the industry’s most terrible humans to the Champagne-soaked ceremony as if he is being “welcomed” back.
They give him the honor of introducing the latest film in the franchise that helped launch his career, Best Picture nominee Mad Max: Fury Road. It's the kind of duty given to actors we have warm, nostalgic feelings for. Mel Gibson is an actor who once told his girlfriend, “You look like a fucking pig in heat.”
When it was announced that Gibson would be presenting, Gervais, a self-proclaimed vicious roaster, was practically giddy with excitement. “Too easy,” he tweeted.
You see, the first time Gervais hosted the Golden Globes, he joked, “I like a drink as much as the next man…unless the next man is Mel Gibson.” A year later, when Gibson was back in the headlines for being a horrible person, Gervais joked, “Our first presenter is beautiful, talented…and Jewish, apparently. Mel Gibson told me that. He’s obsessed.”
Those barbs resurfaced on lists of Gervais’s most vicious jokes that websites reminisced with in advance of his return to hosting this year.
With his omnipresent beer in hand, Gervais reminded the audience of those jokes when introducing Gibson this year, feigning that he felt sorry about it now that he was about to awkwardly share the stage with the subject of his skewering.
“I blame NBC for this terrible situation,” he said. “Mel blames…we know who Mel blames.” That was a good joke about Gibson’s anti-Semitism. It became a bad joke considering that Gibson was about to come out onstage, play the good sport, and maybe even have us feel sympathy for him.
“Listen, I feel a bit bad for it,” Gervais continued. “Mel’s forgotten all about it, apparently. That’s what drinking does…”
And then his final punchline before bringing Gibson out: “I’d rather get a drink with him in his hotel room tonight instead of Bill Cosby.” (That one was a bit lazy, Ricky.)
Then Gibson, thanks to the HFPA and NBC, had the chance to seem like he’s in on the joke. Like he’s a cool guy who likes to have fun. Who got to do his own redemptive comedy. “I love seeing Ricky once every three years because it reminds me to get a colonoscopy.” Why, folks, does Mel Gibson get a chance at redemptive comedy?
Gervais ended the whole ordeal with his sugar tits line. Gibson did look amused. The entire audience was squirming through the whole thing. Gervais handled it humorously, but how disgusting that we were all being encouraged to laugh at this. Don’t give Mel Gibson a platform. Don’t let him make jokes.
This is peak Hollywood Foreign Press. Even Mel Gibson gets forgiven, because he’s a celebrity who’s going to make some headlines.
NBC bleeped Gervais’s last joke. They should have silenced the entire bit.
