Thank god for making me an atheist – Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais is best known for his part in the UK series The Office; a show that has been spun off in the US as a less-funny and almost unwatchable bit of television. Last week, Gervais had the spotlight on him as he hosted the Golden Globes for the second year in a row. Aside from being one of the funniest people in the entertainment industry, Gervais is also one of the more outspoken actors about his atheism. His parting shot for the awards night was “Thank god for making me an atheist”. According to an interview aired on Piers Morgan’s new show, that bit was almost edited out of the telecast given the sensitivity of the largely Christian American public.

Aside from that final line, Gervais ribbed many of Hollywood’s biggest stars with off-kilter jokes that definitely caught a lot of people off guard. Among his ‘victims’ included Charlie Sheen, Angelina Jolie and the scientologists in the crowd. Some people were so infuriated with Gervais’ comments that it prompted outsiders to hypothesize that Gervais had already been fired midway into the show when he disappeared backstage for almost an hour. Whether that is true or not, it may be a fair assumption to say that Gervais will never host the Golden Globes again.

Gervais is so funny and potentially offensive at the same time that it will be easy to find people who would have very different interpretations of what he’s trying to do or say at any given time. Heck, even people on the same side of the argument as him would probably think twice if he’s pushing the envelope too far already.

If you like Gervais’ acerbic sense of humor and would like to see more of how he defends his world view, try to get a copy of his directorial debut The Invention of Lying. It’s an unapologetic and sardonic movie on how religion emerged in a modern day civilization. You will surely love or hate him more after watching this movie.