The Office creator has hit headlines once again of late, thanks to the controversial nature of his latest stand-up special

Patrick Christys has spoken out to throw his support behind Ricky Gervais after the stand-up comedian was forced to defend his jokes about transgender individuals, disabled people, and those he has been accused of fat-shaming in a new BBC interview.

Speaking to John Wilson on Radio 4’s This Cultural Life following the release of his latest Netflix comedy special, Mortality, the 64-year-old comedian was confronted about his tendency to direct humour at marginalised groups.

Mr Wilson probed Mr Gervais about his comedy style and his career in the spotlight. However, one moment, in particular, has since gone viral after Mr Gervais gave an answer that appeared to take the interviewer by surprise.

When quizzed on possible regrets following a controversy-laden career, Mr Gervais replied: “Do I regret anything? No. Would I do things differently now? Probably. You’d have to be specific, but it changes with the time.”

Ricky Gervais is no stranger to causing controversy 

Mr Wilson reeled off the specifics he had in mind: “You’re talking about disability, transgender issues, fat-shaming, the kinds of things that you have been accused of.

“It’s almost like you haven’t changed in parallel with the times. You’ve almost doubled down on those issues; it’s become almost more important to you.”

Rather than pander to the critics, Mr Gervais instead responded with a chuckle: “That’s probably true, but that’s because I think I’m right.”

An awkward silence descended on the interview, before Mr Wilson asked: “You’re right in what way? That you have a right to talk about those things?”

Ricky Gervais has previously responded to complaints about his new special

Mr Gervais responded: “I have a right to talk about those things. And there are jokes I certainly stand by. I can’t look back and say, ‘Oh, sorry about that, I said that when I was only 50.’

“As you get more progressive, milder, more changed, what usually happens is the things you used to do start to look worse.

“What I try to do is get more offensive, so when I look back I can say, ‘Oh, wasn’t I kind when I was 45?’”

Again, Mr Wilson was left lost for words, prompting Mr Gervais to point out he was poking fun at the nature of the question.

Patrick Christys has thrown his support behind Ricky Gervais

Following the interview with the BBC, fans and critics alike have been making their feelings known on Mr Gervais’s refusal to pander to so-called progressive audiences.

And that’s a position Patrick clearly supports, as he shared a clip of Mr Gervais’s This Cultural Life interview with the message: “Absolutely loving Ricky Gervais exposing how utterly humourless BBC lefties are.”

Before long, it soon became clear that many of Patrick’s X followers felt the same. “Love @rickygervais, Why should he change his views, just because some other people say he should? When people say, ‘it was different when I was young’ they are right, because we wasn’t all snowflakes,” one fan replied.

A second echoed: “This one clip sums up beautifully why the licence fee should be scrapped…”

Absolutely loving Ricky Gervais exposing how utterly humourless BBC lefties are pic.twitter.com/i3fbnFcObM

— Patrick Christys (@PatrickChristys) January 4, 2026

Elsewhere, a third took aim at the BBC presenter: “Wilson the presenter is an archetypal BBC man – he oozes smugness and condescending superiority – a London metropolitan elite – he’s even in a band with Ed Balls and Robert Peston – you couldn’t make this s**t up!”

“Ricky is the (GOAT) of stand up, the BBC lost its sense of humour the day after it got drunk on wokery,” a fourth weighed in, before a fifth said: “That’s why there are zero comedies anymore on TV. Lefties run the entire thing and are offended by everything.”

And a sixth hit out: “The poor idiot was so confused, missed the joke and made a fool of himself, great work Ricky as always!” (sic)

Elsewhere in the interview, the comedian argued that stand-up offers performers complete creative freedom, unlike other entertainment formats.

Ricky Gervais’s new stand-up special arrived on Netflix last week

“There’s not 60 executives worrying about your stuff,” he explained. “You can be as brave as you want.”

Mr Gervais compared his compulsion to challenge boundaries to an irresistible urge, saying that when a button warns against pressing it, “you’ve got to press the button.”

The interview came following the release of his latest Netflix special, Mortality, which launched on December 30, and followed the controversy surrounding his 2022 special SuperNature.