New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Culture
21 March 2018updated 09 Sep 2021 4:39pm

No Ricky Gervais, defending offensive shitposters isn’t a matter of free speech

The freedom to joke is not in jeopardy.

By Nick Pettigrew

Ricky Gervais has gone on the offensive.

Not in his usual manner – calling people ‘mongs’, doubling down on his transphobia by comparing trans people to chimps in his latest standup special or by foisting The Invention Of Lying on an unsuspecting public.

Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month
Content from our partners
More than a landlord: A future of opportunity
Towards an NHS fit for the future
How drones can revolutionise UK public services