Ricky Gervais’ “Transphobic” Joke and How Empathy is Mistaken for Outrage

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Ricky Gervais is currently standing in the eye of a social media storm after hosting this year’s Golden Globes. Among the acerbic jibes leveled in the direction of the award ceremony’s famous attendees, a few select comments made by the comedian in regards to Caitlyn Jenner have upset those watching from home.

During Gervais’ opening monologue, he made a jab at Jenner, saying: “I’ve changed… not as much as Bruce Jenner, obviously. Now Caitlyn Jenner, of course. What a year she’s had! She became a role model for trans people everywhere, showing great bravery in breaking down barriers and destroying stereotypes. She didn’t do a lot for women drivers, but you can’t have everything, can you? Not at the same time.”

The outrage generated by this comment was due to Gervais “deadnaming” (referring to a trans person by the name assigned to them at birth) Jenner, which has led many to state that his remarks were transphobic. Gervais has responded to these criticisms by saying that he “doesn’t care” that people are offended, which he has made abundantly clear by endlessly tweeting about it.

“Now allow me to explain why I don’t care by posting another 20 tweets regarding this subject, including endless retweeting opinions held by people who agree with me.”

Ricky Gervais is 54 years old.

Okay, we get it, Rick. You don’t care. Jeez.

But is Gervais right? Are those who criticised his joke simply “whiny cunts” that should be ignored? There have been several comedians in the past who have spoken out about how this generation’s willingness to leap to offense is hurting their profession, with Jerry Seinfeld famously telling ESPN Radio that he doesn’t play colleges because of this. 

Seinfeld told the station: “I don’t play colleges but I hear a lot of people tell me, ‘Don’t go near colleges, they’re so PC.’ I have no interest in gender or race or anything like that. But everyone else is kind of, with their calculating—is this the exact right mix? I think that’s—to me it’s anti-comedy. It’s more about PC-nonsense.”

So are those who criticise comedians’ jokes wrong to do so? Not really. Take English comedian (and I use that term lightly) Roy Chubby Brown, for instance, whose entire stand-up routine consists of making racist jokes to crowds of racists. If Roy Chubby Brown were to be granted TV time in this day and age, it would be well within your right to criticise his material, and the majority would almost certainly agree with you for doing so.

That isn’t to equate Gervais with Roy Chubby Brown; Gervais has accepted that his jokes can be harmful, as evidenced by his previous usage of the word “mong,” a derogatory term for a person with Down’s syndrome, that he subsequently removed from his lexicon after stating that he had been “naive” to use it. But it does highlight how comedians shouldn’t be exempt from criticism, and that those who disagree with comments made by a comedian shouldn’t automatically be labelled as stuffy, politically correct leeches excitedly attaching themselves to the latest controversy.

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But even though Gervais’ subsequent reaction to the criticism leveled at his Jenner joke does highlight a certain level of ignorance, I’d argue that it’s unfair to swiftly label him as transphobic. The reason Caitlyn Jenner’s public transition was a landmark moment is because such a bright spotlight had never been placed on the trans community before, so the majority of us are still learning about transgenderism. Caitlyn’s Vanity Fair cover essentially kickstarted over a decade of progression in just a few short months, and now the majority of non-trans folk are playing catch-up. It’s a great thing, but one that isn’t going to happen without its fair share of missteps along the way from celebrities and us plebeians alike.

This is why it’s important that trans people are better represented in entertainment. It’s why there’s a strong push for trans actors to be given trans roles, because while Eddie Redmayne may be perfectly serviceable in his role in The Danish Girl, bringing visibility to the trans community is the best way for us all to broaden our knowledge of transgenderism – look at the reaction to Laverne Cox’s casting in Orange is the New Black for evidence of this.

I was initially confused regarding the furor surrounding Gervais’ joke, but after reading criticisms from the trans community, I now understand why some would be upset. Being a straight white guy I’m naturally armed with an impenetrable, bulletproof shield when it comes to offence, but that doesn’t mean that I’m incapable of seeing how his remarks could upset trans people – that’s empathy, and over the years as a society we’ve developed it for a wide variety of minority groups. Now it’s time for us to do the same with the trans community.

So while Ricky Gervais may absolutely, definitely, honestly not care about offending some members of the trans community following his Golden Globes appearance, hopefully the continued growth in our understanding of transgenderism will at least see him, and others who were previously unwilling to learn about who they were poking fun at, finally coming to accept that writing off those who disagree with them as perma-offended outrage junkies also means that they are ignoring those who might actually have a point, too.