Wanda Sykes Trolls Ricky Gervais Anti-Trans Jokes at Golden Globes

Ricky Gervais wasn’t at the Golden Globes, where he won the award for best comedy special, so presenter Wanda Sykes took the opportunity to thank “God and the trans community” while accepting the trophy on his behalf.

Sykes is referencing the fact that Gervais, an atheist, drew criticism over jokes mocking trans people in his 2022 Netflix stand-up special “SuperNature.” Although Gervais hasn’t spoken out about those inflammatory comments, CEO Ted Sarandos came to his defense at the time, saying that comedians figure out where the line is by “crossing the line every once in a while. I think it’s very important to the American culture generally to have free expression.”

Gervais was feted for his newest Netflix special, “Morality,” winning in the relatively new category over fellow comedians Bill Maher (“Is Anyone Else Seeing This”), Sarah Silverman (“Postmortem”), Kumail Nanjiani (“Night Thoughts”), Kevin Hart (“Acting My Age”) and Brett Goldstein (“The Second Best Night of Your Life”).

Before announcing the winner, Sykes took the opportunity to roast all of the nominees including Maher (“You give us so much, but I would love a little less. Try less”), Goldstein (“You are handsome. You’ve got that great super villain voice, and you are charming. You would’ve made a great Menendez brother”), Hart (“Kevin is the richest guy in this category, and yet I know he wants it the most. You’re a true American, Kevin”), Nanjiani (” love that you prove that male comedians can be funny without being chubby”), Gervais (“I love you for not being here. I love you, Ricky, but if you win, I get to accept the award on your behalf, and you are going to thank God and the trans community”) and Silverman (“I love that we are such close friends. We haven’t talked in five years, but we are so close”).

Gervais won the inaugural Golden Globe for stand-up special in 2024 for “Armageddon” and has been nominated 10 times over the years for TV shows including “The Office” and “Extras.” A five-time Golden Globes host — and a provocative one at that — Gervais is known for his no-holds-barred approach to comedy. In an interview with Variety in May, when he was getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Gervais said that he “likes that people feel slightly uneasy” when he starts a joke: “I can justify anything. I’m never that brutal. It just seems like it.”