Patricia Arquette weighs in on Ricky Gervais’ feeble attempt at anti-trans humour – and she doesn’t hold back
Patricia Arquette won a best supporting actress award at the Golden Globes 2020. (Getty)
Patricia Arquette weighed in on Ricky Gervais’ attempts at trans humour ahead of his Golden Globes 2020 hosting gig.
The actor said the controversy surrounding Gervais’ recent tweets about trans people “is a really important conversation for everybody to have”.
“Obviously, I have very strong feelings about protecting the trans community,” she told Variety at BAFTA’s annual LA tea party on Saturday (January 4).
“I just don’t think anything’s funny about making fun of the trans community. They’re really persecuted, so I don’t think it’s funny.”
Patricia paid tribute to Alexis Arquette.
Patricia’s sibling was the late actor trans activist Alexis Arquette, who died aged 47 in September 2016.
Alexis came out as a trans woman in 2006 and reportedly took a more fluid view of her gender in her later days, with her brother David Arquette reporting that she referred to herself as “gender suspicious.”
Patricia recently paid tribute to Alexis at the 2019 Emmy Awards, where she made an impassioned plea for improved trans rights.
“In my heart, I’m so sad,” she while accepting a best supporting actress award.
“I’m in mourning every day of my life, Alexis, and will be the rest of my life for you until we change the world for you, until we change the world so that trans people are not persecuted. And give them jobs.”
Patricia Arquette takes aim at Trump in Golden Globes 2020 acceptance speech.
Patricia made a similarly emotive call to arms at the Golden Globes, where she was honoured for her work on The Act.
“I’m so grateful to be here and celebrate this, but also I know tonight, January 5, 2020, we’re not going to look back on this night in the history books,” she said.
“We will see a country on the brink of war, the United States of America. A president tweeting out a threat of 52 bombs, including cultural sites. Young people risking their lives traveling across the world. People not knowing if bombs are going to drop on their kids’ heads. And the continent of Australia on fire.
“So, while I love my kids so much, I beg of us all to give them a better world for their kids – and we have to beg and plea for everyone we know to vote in 2020.”
Ricky Gervais faced calls to quit Golden Globes 2020 because of trans tweets.
Gervais faced calls to step down ahead of Sunday night’s (January 5) Golden Globes after he made a series of disrespectful comments about trans people.
The comedian authored a number of tweets aligning himself with author JK Rowling, who herself faced a backlash over her support of a woman whose employment contract was not renewed because of her anti-trans “gender-critical views.”
Gervais wrote that trans allies had “created a dogma with its own blasphemy laws.”
He also replied to a parody account of a trans woman: “Those awful biological women can never understand what it must be like for you becoming a lovely lady so late in life.
“They take their girly privileges for granted. Winning at female sports and having their own toilets. Well, enough is enough.”
Gervais later insisted that he was merely “playing along” with the account, explaining: “I also make jokes about AIDS, Cancer, Famine, and The Holocaust. Those things do a bit of harm too. But jokes don’t.”
