It didn’t take long for GLAAD to weigh in on Ricky Gervais’ new Netflix special, SuperNature.
In the opening five minutes of the hour-long show, Gervais makes jokes about the trans community. And while Gervais makes a plea later in the show to support and defend gay and trans rights, it wasn’t enough to stop the flow of furious think pieces targeting the Office superstar.
GLAAD was at the forefront of that effort.
After the release of the Netflix special, the veteran rights organization sent out four tweets. The tweets blasted Gervais for telling “dangerous,” inaccurate jokes.
GLAAD is a group that supports and defends the rights of lesbian and gay individuals. Given that mission, it’s not surprising it lashed out at Gervais, even though the material in question consisted of jokes, not policy statements.
Still, the group isn’t always as vocal as expected. It often stays silent even though it appears to be speaking up when necessary.
Politics is likely to play a part in such moments.
Jimmy Kimmel is an example. The far-Left host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” once sparred on Twitter with Fox News superstar Sean Hannity. As part of the exchange, Kimmel weaponized homophobic jokes to belittle the outspoken conservative.
This tweet is still active.
This one is also great.
Yet GLAAD didn’t address the matter, even though the social media slap fest earned plenty of media attention. This reporter reached out to GLAAD’s media relations arm directly on the matter at the time of the Tweets.
It did not respond. It also refused to comment on far-Left comic Chelsea Handler’s homophobic Twitter joke.
GLAAD also went quiet recently after Warner Bros. censured Fantastic Beasts in The Secrets of Dumbledore to soften the film’s gay subplot for Chinese audiences. The editing only removed a few seconds of screen time, but it represented Hollywood’s latest capitulation to Chinese censors.
GLAAD saw this as the ideal moment to stand up for free expression and for gay themes to be more openly portrayed on television.
But the organisation refused to give up.
Gervais leans to the Left, politically speaking, but he’s primarily an observational comic. Is Gervais’ mostly apolitical demeanour making him an easier target for GLAAD or genuine outrage?
[Cross-posted from Hollywood in Toto.]
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