The petition takes issue with a joke about terminally ill children.
During the joke, Gervais talks about doing videos for the Make-A-Wish Foundation when he used the slur.
He follows the joke by telling the audience, “These are all jokes, all right?
Ricky Gervais.Matt Crockett/Netflix
I don’t even use that word in real life, the R-word…
I’m playing a role.”
Gervais addressed the joke in detail onBBC Radio 5 Live’sHeadlinerspodcastwith Nihal Arthanayake.
“I can play to a million people; I won’t get a complaint,” he said.
They haven’t even heard the joke.
They weren’t there.
They don’t count.
They have no effect on me.
They don’t count.
They’re hecklers."
Villa writes that Gervais' joke “is not just disrespectful but also deeply hurtful.
In the BBC interview, Gervais said that offending people is an “occupational hazard.”
“They just want a reaction…
Being ignored has the same psychological effect as being slapped in the face.
So, I really, really enjoy ignoring people,” Gervais said.
Gervais has faced similar criticism of past Netflix specials, includingSuperNature, which was criticized for mocking trans people.
“It’s just not true.
It’s a joke.”
Gervais offered something ofa content warning on X, formerly known as Twitter, this week.
“If you dont approve of jokes about any of these things, then yo dont watch.
You won’t enjoy it and youll get upset.”
