Batten down the hatches, Hollywood. Ricky Gervais is returning to host the Golden Globes broadcast on Jan. 10. This will be the actor/writer/comedian's fourth time emceeing the awards ceremony, and if he's upping the ante on his past monologues, then the beautiful and elite had better come prepared. The creator of Extras and the original version of The Office takes obvious pleasure in having a platform from which to share his merry disdain for the more hypocritical and ludicrous aspects of the entertainment industry, and he'll certainly be addressing huge movie events like Star Wars: The Force Awakens . That's his job.
Now, movie and television stars shouldn't be treated like glass for fear that they can't take a joke. They should sweat a bit to see Ricky Gervais, his signature smirk, and glass of scotch take the stage. Still, some topics simply can't be made funny in this context. Yet I fear that the host will be tempted by a piece of recent entertainment news coming out of The Force Awakensand attempt to tell a "joke" about it anyway. So I'm throwing a request out into the world: Ricky Gervais, please do not attempt to make a joke about Carrie Fisher and body-shaming at the Golden Globes.
Gervais has tackled a range of subjects in prior years that usually don't make the cut for award show patter. "Also not nominated, I Love You Phillip Morris," he joked in 2011. "Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, two heterosexual actors pretending to be gay. So the complete opposite of some famous Scientologists, then." And though he's been faced with answering celebrity ire even while the show is still going on (Madonna: "If I'm just like a virgin, Ricky, why don't you come over here and do something about it?"), Gervais has not plans to soften his game up for 2016. On New Year's Day, he tweeted, "Because I can see the future, I'd like to apologize now for the things I said at next week's Golden Globes. I was drunk & didn't give a f***." Fair enough.
Maybe it's too much to hope that Gervais will leave the Carrie Fisher weight controversy alone, especially because it's one of the nastiest pieces of Star Wars gossip around right now. A recap of the drama: Carrie Fisher, who returned to the part of Leia Organa after 32 years, revealed during The Force Awakens press tour that Disney had asked her to lose weight in advance of the film. She did, and yet her appearance is still being criticized by body-shamers who have no issue with the fact that Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, her original trilogy co-stars, have aged as well. Gervais shouldn't let this subject lie because Fisher can't handle the conversation. He should because she can. Her responses to ridiculous policing and misogynistic double standards have been inspirational and hilarious; in response to a particularly disgusting New York Post op-ed that suggests Fisher quit the business if she "doesn't like being judged on looks," as if there's any profession women can go into to avoid it, she tweeted:
Who better to make light of judgmental idiots than the person they've selected as their victim? Carrie Fisher has refused to apologize for who she is, and a cheap joke from Gervais can't possibly compete with her own rebuttals to this nonsense. Gervais isn't subject to the same criticism leveled against Fisher and the rest of her gender. He reached fame without being forced to alter his looks. Even if his gag were to "side" with the actress instead of ridiculing her, Gervais won't be able to dole out justice to body-shamers like Fisher. So he shouldn't even try.
