24 February 2024 , 16:01
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Joe Lycett has slammed Ricky Gervais for 'wasting his skill to attack minorities'.
The award-winning writer, 62, has come under fire from some fans after his Netflix project, Supernatural - in which he takes aim at the trans community, quipping ‘old-fashioned women’ are ‘the ones with wombs’ - caused outrage with some fans.
Now, stand-up star Joe, 35, who is currently highlighting the country's poo problem with his Channel 4 documentary, Joe Lycett vs Sewage, reckons Ricky should divert his considerable talent away from minority groups.
Speaking on The News Agents podcast, he said: "The thing about Gervais and people like him, who are doing material which is attacking trans people and wokeness, however they see it, is that they are very skilled. Gervais has done amazing, amazing, work, and what a waste of that skill to attack minorities. That’s how I feel about it."
Joe Lycett has accused Ricky Gervais of being 'comedically weak' (Getty Images)Joe continued: "What I think is perhaps disappointing about Gervais and the people like him that are doing this sort of 'I’ll just say how it is,' and the last show he did, the real tragedy for me was that it was comedically weak."
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As well as mentioning 'women with wombs' in Supernatural, Ricky also jokes about transitioning himself, presenting his new persona, Vicky Gervais. However, Joe thinks The Office star could be becoming "complacent", suggesting: ‘‘If you removed the Gervaisness of it, and you gave it to a new stand-up, they’d struggle in a club with the material he had," adding: "anyone who gets a bit of telly can get a bit complacent, myself included".
When asked whether Ricky should can the material all together, Joe said he didn't want to get involved in someone else's "creative process". However, he concluded: "I’m not going to say he shouldn’t do it, do whatever he wants, but I would prefer to see him use that skill and that wit to attack people who possibly need to be attacked more than the trans community."
Joe's comments come after Ricky responded to criticism of an ‘ableist’ joke in his Netflix special, Armageddon. The Extras star sparked a huge backlash over his use of language and terms, not least when he joked about making videos for terminally ill children via the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Soon after, nearly 4,000 signed a petition calling on him to axe the slurs from his comedy special. However, he now made it clear that wouldn't be happening, but said he’ll happily share the petition online. When speaking to Nihal Arthanayake on Radio 5 Live in 2023, Ricky gave a two word response to the petitioners, who he accused of 'faux offence'. "Good luck. That’s what I say to them.," he said, before adding: "Good luck. I’ll even retweet it."
The Mirror has contacted Ricky's rep for comment on this story.