Comments on: Ricky Gervais Continues To Break My Heart

By: Big Fat Deal » Penn and Teller call “Bullshit” on Meme Roth

Big Fat Deal » Penn and Teller call “Bullshit” on Meme Roth — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 07:04:04 +0000

[...] mentioned. I’m a little afraid of watching this, quite honestly, because like Mopie feels for Ricky Gervais, I have a HUGE weird crush on Penn Jillette and want to believe that someday he will fall madly in [...]

By: Screaming Fat Girl

Screaming Fat Girl — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 01:53:37 +0000

I think this is just publicity. Gervais isn’t very well known in America. By ragging on fat people, he gets more attention in the media for his tasteless, mean-spirited comments.

The disappointing part is that this isn’t clever or funny. I’m not saying that as an overweight person who can’t take a joke. Frankly, I have never been offended by good fat humor (like Spinal Tap’s “Big Bottom” and Weird Al’s “Fat”, for example). This is just angry ranting and blaming. It’s not even good as a parody of a fat-hater. So, either this is sincere, or lazy on Gervais’s part. Either way, it means he’s played out his best years as a creative comedian and isn’t worthy of attention or time. He’s turning into a British Howard Stern, appealing to the LCD in an obvious and vulgar way as a form of attention-whoring.

Considering the potential he showed early on (particularly with Extras), this is a sad decline. At least he is thin now. I guess that will keep him happy as his movies continue to fail at the box office and he scratches the bottom of his creative barrel to come up with something people will like. Poor fellow. No wonder he’s so angry and has to find an easy target to take things out on. I’d hate myself too if I felt tapped out and like my career had peaked.

By: Big Fat Deal » Drop Dead Diva, Fat-Positive Television, And Ricky Gervais (Again)

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:24:46 +0000

[...] you’ve been reading for a while, you know of my conflicted feelings about Ricky Gervais. But, the problem is, he keeps hating on fat people and making it more and more [...]

By: George

George — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:41:10 +0000

My God! He looks like he took a bath in Quaker State motor oil.

By: Arwen

Arwen — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 04:41:18 +0000

Ahhh, Robert and Mental Man. I know you’re both only saying what you’ve been told, and told, and told, and told by the media. But the science isn’t there. Go ahead and try to find it – science that shows that you can control portion sizes and exercise and achieve permanent weight loss — any study where more than 10% of the adherents maintain weight loss to a “normal” BMI (none of this 10% silliness) over more than three years, well, you run right back here and tell us.

Not even having one’s stomach cut out gets the majority to normal and keeps them there. So “portion control” and “exercise” is an amusing humour. Like how if you think happy thoughts, you’ll cure lung cancer. Sure; worked for a priceless few.

By: Mental Man

Mental Man — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:57:57 +0000

This blog is mental. I’m not sure if you’re being ignorant, stupid or overly self-important. People get mocked for many things, often things that you can’t help. Mocking people who are overweight, and who complain about being overweight is something you have to put up with. You don’t have to like it, you don’t have to watch it. The world isn’t tailored to your tastes.
But to claim that he’s really overstepped the mark by insulting people who over eat to the extent of clinical obesity, willfully putting their life in danger (up to them, but it is a strain on medical services), and then COMPLAIN about the situation, is ridiculous.

Anyway, be fat, be thin, whatever. But for the vast majority of people who are obese and complain about being obese, it is a lifestyle they have chosen, which is why it’s funny to mock them with so little restraint.

Anyway, anyone who isn’t biased and is reasonably intelligent should be able to work that out for themselves. I get the feeling the people on this blog have the intelligence, but are affected by bias since they themselves are fat, and likely complain about being fat, and don’t like to be mocked for that fact. I don’t care if you are fat or thin or beautiful or ugly. Honestly, someone just being fat doesn’t offend me or make me laugh at all. But people who complain about being fat when they willful create that situation does make me laugh.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 02:01:37 +0000

I think perhaps he’s trying to make fun of the bullies who hurt others for being overweight, by portraying one in a comedic light. Like saying, “Look at this total jerk I’m playing! Don’t you just hate people like him! I do too!”

As far as him being that way outside of his character on The Office, he’s just being a jerk. I don’t know if it’s like the thing where they say if someone is bullied long enough, they either become depressed or become the bully. Perhaps he has chosen the latter as his way to cope.

By: robert

robert — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:52:23 +0000

i think he’s right. obviously, he is a comedian and is making larger than life generalizations of all people that are overweight. and obviously it sounds awful because it is so blunt. but maybe he’s right. why should people have an automatic quick-fix for something that often times (but NOT ALWAYS, i realize) can be helped by a little exercise and portion control. i’m not suggesting this works for everyone or that being fat is necessarily one’s own fault. BUT, isn’t making exercise and a healthy lifestyle a priority for people a good thing?

By: cassie

cassie — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:24:57 +0000

i’ve heard him make inexcusably hateful, nasty comments about obese people on his podcast — where he is playing himself, as far as i know, and not a smug persona.
now that i think of it, that could come in very handy at times: “that wasn’t ME, that was my smug, bigoted persona.” i’m going to try it!

By: K

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:32:26 +0000

Part of the trouble with Ricky Gervais is that his stand-up persona is very bigoted and smug. Apparently, this is not the real him. He has said in interviews that he now regrets using his real name for the persona.

But the obvious upshot is that it is now practically impossible to tell when he is in character as “Ricky Gervais” and when he is saying what he really thinks. The two are frequently self-contradictory, and I get the impression he rather likes making people uncomfortable by blurring the line.

(I’m not exactly a fan, though I think bits of The Office and Extras are very funny.)