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New York Times
14-06-2025
- General
- New York Times
I'm No Godlike Father After All
When my son was born, I got plenty of advice about his eating and sleeping, too much about which gear to buy and hardly any at all about my biggest question: what it actually meant to be a dad. It was the summer of 2017, a time of reckoning for fathers. Bill Cosby, known as America's dad, had been charged with sexual assault, and his trial played on every TV in the maternity ward. The nation had just elected as president Donald Trump, who boasted of never having changed a diaper. As #MeToo swept the country, masculinity entered a time of crisis on the left. Meanwhile, the right was embracing traditional visions of gender roles. I wanted to find a different model of paternal care, but this is not the sort of issue most parenting books address, and my own father, who had recently had a stroke, wasn't available to help guide me in the way he always had. All my life he had been a safe and solid presence, but now he was newly vulnerable and remote. I didn't want to fashion myself as infallible, as so many fathers do, so I did virtually the only thing I felt qualified to do as a historian: Whenever I could find a few free hours, I started researching the history of fatherhood, particularly in the West, in search of some lost ideal that I could emulate. Over more than six years of study, a few themes kept coming up. From the very beginning of the written historical record roughly 5,000 years ago, fatherhood has been marked by what looks to a modern reader to be masculine insecurity. Many of the oldest surviving legal and religious texts work anxiously to establish a godlike mandate: I know what's best, and if you do as I say, you will be completely protected and provided for. Ancient Sumerian inscriptions tell the story of a father, Shuruppak, eager to counsel his son Ziusudra. Shuruppak gives his son all sorts of advice, but his real concern is his own tenuous authority. 'My son,' Shuruppak pleads again and again, 'let me give you instructions: You should pay attention! The instructions of an old man are precious: You should comply with them!' In the centuries that followed, fathers would continue trying to reinforce their paternalistic authority, especially in times of crisis and social change. At a precarious moment in ancient Athens, when it seemed as if the great city might not survive, Aristotle formulated policies to increase a man's power within and beyond his household. The first Roman emperor sought to stabilize his empire after years of civil war by bolstering the patriarchal family and 'traditional' morality. Five hundred years ago, Henry VIII's anxieties about succession drove him to claw back the power to pass property and status to favored heirs. Again and again, the message has been the same: Fathers know best. Except in hindsight — whenever patriarchy ushered in war and destruction — it seemed clear that they did not. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Telegraph
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Ricky Gervais makes Hollywood sex abuse joke in Walk of Fame speech
Ricky Gervais has made a controversial joke about sex abuse in showbusiness after accepting a Hollywood Walk of Fame award. The 63-year-old actor and comedian posed with his star at the Los Angeles landmark on Friday. He then joked how he was grateful to join the 'exclusive club', naming among its members the pop star Michael Jackson, the comedian Bill Cosby and the silent film actor Roscoe 'Fatty'Arbuckle. All three went on trial for alleged sex crimes. Gervais said: 'Thank you so much for this honour. It's a genuine thrill to be part of such an exclusive club. 'And just looking around earlier at all the other stars, absolute icons, you know? Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Fatty Arbuckle.' Jackson, who died in 2009 aged 50, was accused of sexually abusing children at his Neverland ranch, but was acquitted. Arbuckle was taken to court three times in the 1920s for the rape and manslaughter of the actress Virginia Rappe. He was also acquitted and received a written apology from the third jury. He died in 1933. Cosby, 87, was convicted of sexual assault in 2018 and spent just under three years in prison. He maintains his innocence, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court later overturned his conviction. On Friday, a casually dressed Gervais also addressed his look, saying: 'I should firstly apologise for how I'm dressed. This isn't me trying to be cool or disrespectful to the establishment. This is me not having a suit that fits any more. 'I tried on about five before I left England and the jackets weren't too bad, but the trousers were just depressing. Even my shirts were too tight. I looked disgusting. When a butcher ties up those joints of pork – it was like that.' The multi-award-winning entertainer being awarded a star on Hollywood Boulevard as 'pretty crazy', adding: 'And I'm from England, so I have a strange mix of nothing good ever happens, and if it does I don't deserve it or it can't be as good as I thought it was. 'I'd love to claim that it was due to my unrivalled genius, but it truth be told, it's a cocktail of luck, persistence, and a little bit of pushing against the tide. 'You've got to polarise. You need to know that if you're doing anything of any worth, as many people hate you as love you. But the ones that hate you, they shouldn't affect you. The ones that love you, they buy your house. So I'd like to thank them. 'And we've had a few weird years of cancel culture, people telling you what you can and can't laugh at or talk about, but we pushed back and we won until the next time.' Gervais previously attracted controversy over comments made during a speech at the Golden Globes in 2020. In an eight-minute monologue, he criticised various aspects of Hollywood, bringing in issues of racism and the Epstein scandal. He was accused of being 'cruel' and 'unkind' the morning after the awards. But hitting back on social media, he wrote: 'Thank you for all your amazing comments about my Golden Globes monologue. Best reaction ever, that means a lot to me.'
Daily Mail
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Ricky Gervais gives hilarious risque speech as he receives star on Hollywood Walk Of Fame
Ricky Gervais received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday and while accepting the honor, he risked getting canceled with an edgy speech. The 63-year-old comedian stirred up controversy again as he joked about sexual assault accusations, and said he was grateful to join stars including Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, and Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. He said: 'Thank you so much for this honor. It's a genuine thrill to be part of such an exclusive club. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO 'And just looking around earlier at all the other stars, absolute icons, you know?' Jackson, Cosby, and Arbuckle all went to trial for their alleged crimes but only Cosby was convicted, as Jackson and Arbuckle were acquitted. He began: 'Wow, this is a huge surprise. I never thought I'd win this today.' As he unfolded a piece of paper, he added: 'I haven't even prepared a speech or anything. 'I should firstly apologize for how I'm dressed. This isn't me trying to be cool or disrespectful to the establishment. This is me not having a suit that fits anymore,' he joked in his speech. He later joked about how his job is to be 'not very good at taking things too seriously' and delivered his controversial punchline at a moment when he said he was 'going to try and be serious.' Gervais is no stranger to making controversial, profanity-laden jokes and often faces backlash for his 'offensive' comedy. The actor, who was behind British TV sitcoms like The Office and Extras, previously stirred controversy when he hosted the Golden Globe Awards from 2010 through 2012, then again in 2016 and 2020. Career: He later joked about how his job is to be 'not very good at taking things too seriously' Although he did not return for this year's ceremony, he did share some of the shocking jokes he would have told if the 82nd Golden Globes was hosted by him instead of fellow comedian Nikki Glaser. For her first time Golden Globes hosting gig, Glaser even made a joke about Gervais during her monologue when she said she was 'not gonna go so hard that anyone's gonna be offended.' Meanwhile, Gervais had shared a video of some of his jokes ahead of the award ceremony as he said, 'It's been a pretty good year for material.' He roasted Sean 'Diddy' Combs, joked about Justin Timberlake's DWI arrest and also showed off more of his caustic wit as he wisecracked about Hollywood's 'pedo ring' and The Vatican. His hosting gigs have always drawn mixed reactions as some of his wildest Golden Globe jokes included roasting Leonardo DiCaprio for the age gap between him and the women he dates as well as offending Caitlyn Jenner by using her deadname. He also joked about Bird Box and working for Harvey Weinstein as well as the litany of celebrities who have undergone plastic surgery transformations.
The Independent
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Watch: Ricky Gervais rails against cancel culture as he's honoured with a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Comedian Ricky Gervais has been honoured with a star on Hollywood's iconic Walk of Fame. While the star of The Office admitted he was 'humbled' to receive the tribute on Friday (30 May), he couldn't resist poking fun at the event in a broadside against cancel culture. 'Thank you so much for this honor. It's a genuine thrill to be part of such an exclusive club,' said Gervais. 'And just looking around earlier at all the other stars, absolute icons, you know, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Fatty Arbuckle. 'And we've had a few weird years of cancel culture - people telling you what you can and can't laugh at or talk about, but we pushed back and we won until the next time.'
Daily Mail
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Ricky Gervais risks getting CANCELED on Hollywood Walk of Fame with edgy acceptance speech
received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday and while accepting the honor, he nearly risked getting canceled with an edgy speech. The 63-year-old comedian stirred up controversy again as he toed the line on making a joke about another subject many have deemed too taboo to joke about — sexual assault accusations. He made a joke about being grateful to join some of the famous (or infamous) legends memorialized with a star in Hollywood as he named Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby and Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle — all of whom have faced accusations of sexual assault. 'Thank you so much for this honor. It's a genuine thrill to be part of such an exclusive club,' Gervais said during his speech, per Variety. 'And just looking around earlier at all the other stars, absolute icons, you know? Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Fatty Arbuckle.' All three went to trial for their alleged crimes but only Cosby was convicted while the King of Pop and Arbuckle were acquitted. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'Wow, this is a huge surprise,' he joked as he began his speech. 'I never thought I'd win this today.' As he unfolded a piece of paper, he added: 'I haven't even prepared a speech or anything.' 'I should firstly apologize for how I'm dressed. This isn't me trying to be cool or disrespectful to the establishment. This is me not having a suit that fits anymore,' he joked in his speech. He later joked about how his job is to be 'not very good at taking things too seriously' and delivered his controversial punchline at a moment when he said he was 'going to try and be serious.' Gervais is no stranger to making controversial, profanity-laden jokes and often faces backlash for his 'offensive' comedy. The actor, who was also a co-creator of British TV sitcoms like The Office and Extras, previously stirred controversy with his 'offensive' jokes when he hosted the Golden Globe Awards five times — consecutively from 2010 through 2012, then again in 2016 and 2020. Though he did not return for this year's ceremony, he did share some of the shocking jokes he would have told if the 82nd Golden Globes was hosted by him instead of fellow comedian Nikki Glaser. For her first time Golden Globes hosting gig, Glaser even made a joke about Gervais during her monologue when she said she was 'not gonna go so hard that anyone's gonna be offended.' He later joked about how his job is to be 'not very good at taking things too seriously' and delivered his controversial punchline at a moment when he said he was 'going to try and be serious' Meanwhile, Gervais had shared a video of some of his jokes ahead of the award ceremony as he said, 'It's been a pretty good year for material.' He roasted Sean 'Diddy' Combs, joked about Justin Timberlake's DWI arrest and also showed off more of his caustic wit as he wisecracked about Hollywood's 'pedo ring' and The Vatican. His hosting gigs have always drawn mixed reactions as some of his wildest Golden Globe jokes included roasting Leonardo DiCaprio for the age gap between him and the women he dates as well as offending Caitlyn Jenner by using her deadname. He also joked about Bird Box and working for Harvey Weinstein as well as the litany of celebrities who have undergone plastic surgery transformations. Some of his most controversial and offensive jokes have been slammed for being 'homophobic' and 'anti-transgender rhetoric.' A couple years ago, his new Netflix special drew criticism and even saw the creation of a petition to remove his caustic jokes on taboo subjects. He faced significant backlash for joking about terminally ill children in Armageddon, referring to them as 'baldy' and using the R-slur in his stand-up show. More than 12,000 people signed a petition demanding Netflix remove the jokes in late 2023 before Gervais broke his silence to defend himself and his humor. In an interview with Nihal Arthanayake on BBC Radio 5 Live's Headliners podcast, he called out the 'faux' outrage against him and compared the petitioners to 'hecklers.' In his Netflix comedy special, he immediately said to the audience after making the controversial joke: 'These are all jokes, all right? I don't even use that word in real life — the R-word. I'm playing a role.' During his podcast appearance two years ago, Gervais said: 'I can play to a million people. I won't get a complaint. As soon as it goes on Netflix or as soon as someone writes up a joke that says this is offensive, people go, "Oh, that's offensive." They haven't even heard the joke. They weren't there. Ignore them. They don't count. They have no effect on me. They don't count. They're hecklers.' He also ceded that offending people is an 'occupational hazard' for a comedian but also said he chooses to ignore the 'heckling' on social media. 'They're allowed to hate it. They're allowed to not come to the show, but it's not going to stop me doing what I love, and I'm not going to stop it at the expense of all the other people who love it. No one has to watch this.'
