Ricky Gervais reveals brutal jokes he would’ve told as 2025 Golden Globes host

The comedian and writer last hosted the iconic award ceremony in 2020.

The 63-year-old presided over the annual ceremony five times, last hosting in 2020, and sparked a wave of backlash each time he took to the podium as he ripped into some of the biggest celebrities in the world.

Among some of his most controversial jibes on previous occasions were:

"Lots of famous people here tonight. I mean, legends, iconic. This table alone. Al Pacino, Robert De Niro. Baby Yoda—oh, that’s Joe Pesci, sorry."

"Martin Scorsese, the greatest living director, made the news for his comments about Marvel movies. He said they’re not real cinema and they remind him of theme parks. I agree, although I don’t know what he’s doing hanging around theme parks. He’s not big enough to go on the rides."

"The Irishman was amazing. Long, but amazing. It wasn’t the only epic movie. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, nearly three hours long. Leonardo DiCaprio attended the premiere, and by the end, his date was too old for him. Even Prince Andrew’s like, 'Come on, Leo, mate. You’re nearly 50, son.'"

Speaking on The Overlap's Stick To Football podcast last November, Gervais explained the idea behind his savage takedown of some of Hollywood's biggest names.

He told host Gary Neville: "When they said, 'Do you want to host the Golden Globes?', I thought, 'Who do I pander to? The 200 richest people in the room or the 200 million people watching at home who aren't winning awards, who aren't millionaires. It was a no brainer."

The After Life and The Office creator took to X last night to reveal some of the jokes he would’ve made had he been emceeing this year's awards ceremony.

Hello, and welcome to the 82nd Golden Globe awards. What a year it's been. Hundreds of entertainers jumped at the chance to go to The Vatican to meet The Pope. Many from Hollywood. Obviously they weren't content with only being part of the 2nd biggest pedo ring in the world... https://t.co/lK3LuoxE90

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) January 3, 2025

“Sat in the bath wondering about what I would say if I were hosting The Golden Globes on Sunday,” Gervais wrote. “It’s been a pretty good year for material.”

“Hello, and welcome to the 82nd Golden Globe awards,” his monologue would’ve began. “What a year it’s been. Hundreds of entertainers jumped at the chance to go to The Vatican to meet The Pope. Many from Hollywood. Obviously they weren’t content with only being part of the 2nd biggest pedo ring in the world…”

Gervais continued: “Justin Timberlake was convicted of [drunk driving]. If he’d have gone to jail he’d have heard the words ‘Sexy Back’ a lot more often.”

And Gervais would’ve taken aim at Diddy with the following joke: “Kevin Hart said that being at one of Diddy’s parties was uncomfortable, as he wouldn’t leave him alone. Eventually he had to shout ‘Imma Midget, not a child.'”

US comedian Nikki Glaser will replace the English entertainer as the host of this year's ceremony, which is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles on Sunday night.

Speaking to Variety, the 40-year-old stand-up gave a little insight into what viewers can expect from her appearance.

“The way I feel about the Globes is like, what are we doing here? We’re treating this like you guys are all nominated for Nobel Prizes,” Glaser said.

“I don’t think I can be as honest as I want to be, to communicate my feelings about some of these nominees that I don’t think deserve it. That’s the argument my writing team is getting into: Will this fly? Can we make fun of The Bear, or is The Bear going to take itself too seriously? It’s about figuring out where the line is."