‘Anti-woke’ comedian Ricky Gervais’ new stand-up show panned by critics who say he should ‘log off’

Comedian Ricky Gervais has launched a new UK tour, but it’s not going down very well. Reviewers have called Ricky Gervais: Mortality “tepid”, “not funny” and even accused the star of spending “too much time online.”

Announcing the tour in June, Gervais said: “We’re all gonna die. May as well have a laugh about it. Mortality looks at the absurdities of life – and death. Bring it on.”

But the reviews have focused more on Gervais channelling his inner “woke-baiting truth-teller” stance rather than jokes about death and ageing, which are “lightly prosecuted at best”, according to The Times, who also called the show “a bit scattershot.”

A review in The Independent accused the funny man of being “utterly immersed in the discourse churn of the Twittersphere” and devoting “considerable energy towards ridiculing those (online) dissenters who have called him out for ableism, or transphobic comedy, goading them with more of the same”.

It goes on to say: “The idea of Gervais as a kind of obstinate sceptic-provocateur is now the heart of his own branding. But he’s in no way any funnier because of this.”

The Telegraph said Gervais was “a man who used to be the funniest bloke in the pub, delivering material written after spending too much time online.”

The reviews point to Gervais’ previous successes such as The Office, Extras, Derek, Life’s Too Short, and After Life, as well as his early comedy specials Animals and Politics, and how they differ markedly from Mortality‘s “ridiculing” of critics who disagree with his anti-wokeness.

Despite the lukewarm reviews, Mortality is expected to run until the end of 2025 and culminate in a new special for Netflix, which will Gervais’ fourth for the streaming service.

He has been criticised for “lazy” jokes about trans people in the past, particularly by fellow comedian Frankie Boyle, who said he should “have the same respect for trans people that he seems to have for animals”.

His last special, Armageddon, was top of Netflix’s most-watched list for a while. However, his jokes about cancer patients caused anger on social media which led to him trending on X/Twitter.

The same happened with the show before that, his Netflix special Super Nature, which “infuriated virtue-signallers with transgender gags”, according The Telegraph. It featured a 15-minute-long segment about trans people and “cancel culture”, and the comic joked about the LGBTQ+ community throughout.

Towards the end of Super Nature, Gervais claims that he “supports” queer rights before making another bigoted comment. “Full disclosure: In real life, of course, I support trans rights,” he said. “I support all human rights, and trans rights are human rights. Live your best life. Use your preferred pronouns. Be the gender that you feel you are. But meet me halfway, ladies: Lose the c**k. That’s all I’m saying.”

LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation GLAAD condemned the special, saying: “It’s full of graphic, dangerous, anti-trans rants masquerading as jokes. He also spouts anti-gay rhetoric and spreads inaccurate information about HIV.”