British comic Ricky Gervais has said he will not be back to host next year’s Golden Globe awards, after spending three years ruffling more than a few Hollywood feathers and making jibes about some of its biggest stars.
The number of viewers of this year’s recent ceremony is down slightly compared to the number for 2010, with many viewers noting that the comedian seemed to have toned down his jokes from previous years.
Now he has posted on his website: “I’ve told my agent never to let me be persuaded to do it again.”
But, at this year’s ceremony he still managed to slip in a few near-the-knuckle gags about the British actor Colin Firth, star of The King’s Speech. He also introduced Robert Downey Jr. by saying his most well-known roles were at the LA county jail and the Betty Ford clinic, and poked fun at the movie I Love You, Philip Morris.
Last year, many felt Gervais would not be allowed back to the awards, with some critics saying they reckoned he had “crossed lines of taste and civility.”
But organizers heralded the ceremony with an ad campaign hinting that the funnyman would go further than before with his humor at the 2012 gig.
However, reviewers described his performance as “subdued” and “a let-down.”
Still, the show was the most-watched in the US on the night it took place, with 16.8 million viewers, a slight decrease from the 17 million who tuned in in 2011.
Gervais told David Letterman that he would definitely be stepping down but said the 2012 event had been his favorite to date.
At the ceremony, The Artist and The Descendants took the best motion picture awards, and Jean Dujardin and George Clooney, stars of each one respectively, the best actor awards. Meryl Streep won best actress in a drama for The Iron Lady, and best director went to Martin Scorsese for Hugo.
Photo © John Polo – Fotolia.com
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