While he wasn’t invited to Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the comedian shared on Twitter how he could’ve opened the show during ABC’s live telecast. Responding to a fan’s question on Twitter regarding what his “first best joke” would be, he provided not just one but two of them – in his own style.
“I can’t wait to hear all your inspirational speeches about equality, and it’s great that the 3 hours you’re here tonight is the only time your badly paid migrant house staff will get some time off to sleep this week” https://t.co/fsFbdDkv6u
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) February 9, 2020
“It’s great to see such diversity in the room tonight. Rich sex pests of all shapes and sizes” https://t.co/fsFbdDkv6u
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) February 9, 2020
Despite claiming that he was “too old for this,” Gervais returned as host of the Golden Globes in January, pointing out the hypocrisy floating about the room. Memorably, he reminded the audience, “If you win, come up, accept your little award tonight… thank your agent and your God, and f*ck off. No one cares about your views on politics or culture.”
The Oscars was without a host for the second time in a row and the third time in the history of the awards show. Comedian Kevin Hart was announced as the host for the 2019 show, but he ended up resigning after an uproar over some of his old homophobic tweets. The Academy chose not to search for a replacement, introducing a list of presenters for each nomination instead.