Ricky Gervais hates us. All of us, sitting here, talking about him. Ricky thinks we’re “deficient”. He thinks we’re the equivalent of bathroom-stall pseudo-poets. And he wants to let us all know that he isn’t listening. Even if we think you’re brilliant, Ricky? Apparently, because Ricky says that even the flattering stuff “isn’t healthy”.
I can’t find where Ricky originally made these comments, but Contact Music has some pretty good quotes. Ricky probably doesn’t really hate us, he’s just trying to ignore us for the sake of his art. He basically claims that no one liked his stuff until he actually did it, and it’s better for him to tune out the bad and the good comments on his work.
Ricky Gervais refuses to read fans’ opinions about his comedy shows because he’s convinced he knows best. “The Office” creator recently described people who criticise celebrities in online forums as “deficient in some way”, insisting it’s equal to responding to inane graffiti on toilet walls.
But he has now qualified his comments, fearing he has offended fans.
He says, “It was not aimed at anyone in particular, no particular forum or fansite as I never read those things. I read a couple a few years ago and, as sweet and flattering as it was, it isn’t healthy.
“With everyone in the world having strong and completely different opinions on the minutiae of your work, it might start influencing your decisions… I appreciate that fans have views on my work – I just don’t want to hear them. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I mean I don’t take notes.”
“It’s not that I think I know better than everyone else in the world; it’s just that I feel the best work is never done by committee or by pandering to the most popular suggestions. I think I have the best fans in the world. The stuff I’ve produced over the past few years could never have been the success it was without the initial dedication of the hard core few. However I wouldn’t want to be stuck in a lift with them.”
From Contact Music
It’s a tough call, blasting your critics as well as your fans. I completely understand what Ricky’s saying, but it might be taken as biting the hand that feeds him. I hope people get where he’s coming from.
Since we know that Ricky’s not reading, what is the worst we could say about him? Hey, Ricky, you’re so…I don’t know… pasty? That’s as bad as I can get for Ricky. I love him, but I know he doesn’t care.
Ricky Gervais is shown at the Golden Globes with his partner Jane Fallon on 1/11/09. Credit: WENN
Oh NO! haha, well, I LOVE to see his stand up. Whatevs, doesn’t bother me. I still think he’s brilliant.
It was posted on his blog a few days back. It’s nothing new. Every other post is criticizing the reader. It’s part of his schtick, don’t you know.
Love that chicks purple hair behind them – if truth be told I’d rather look at her than Ricky – no wonder he doesn’t want to know what I think
Well, he’s right, isn’t he? We don’t have lives, so we examine the lives of others with money and fame and make comments about their marriages, movie choices, clothing, etc.
No real harm done, but yes, we are pathetic.
Or we have lives but look to escape them for a while through some harmless gossip. Meh?
Ricky who?
the man has an ego the size of Essex=he may be funny but has a rep as a total plank
Who is this guy? Is he famous? I don’t watch sitcoms, generally, so I guess I’m out of the loop on this “artist.”
The only Ricky I really give a shit about rolls with Julian and Bubbles.
Well he’s putting down a lot of people in the western world. Because unfortunately a lot of people do read about it. And it does suck that these kind of blogs and websites make celebrities more important than they are, just by writing about them everyday. In defense of myself, It’s hard to ignore soemthing when it’s shoved in your face everyday. You can’t even watch CNN without some kind of celebrity news creeping in to the program or go to the supermarket without headlines slashed all over the place. Being at work and people talking about it. You can blame the people to some extent, but I really think that the media and celebrites themselves are to blame for fueling it.
You could be of the highest intellectual/ professional in the world and still have to know who Britney Spears and Brangelina is. Sad isn’t it?
Uh, I have a life sweetie. I just don’t like being utterly bored at work. I need to do multiple things so I can, oddly enough, work faster. It gets my brain revved and I churn out huge quantities of quality work. (It stems from my college days.)
But I’ll say this: I think, at least for me is that most people have a thing for drama. We love it. We’re enthralled by it. It’s why we go to the movies or watch a TV show. We love that crap, we eat it up.
And for those of us who lead rather drama free lives, it’s nice to indulge in someone else’s drama. We love drama. We just don’t want our own, so we’re content watching the drama of other people’s lives unfold while we sit back and cuddle with a loved one, knowing that the likelihood of us attacking a SUV with an umbrella is slim.
*sigh*
Someday soon, the “I don’t care about the people who care about me as a performer.” is going to start reflecting in ticket sales, Ricky.
Ack! I don’t know who he is, nor do I care, but that dress on his partner is blinding me with it’s hideousness.
xiao: I love that woman’s purple hair, too. Remember Manic Panic? I tried that stuff so many times when I was younger, but it never showed up on my dark brown hair. So I bleached it to hell and back and my poor hair turned nuclear waste orange, and to add insult to injury, wouldn’t even take the purple color. So sad.
codzilla… my lil sis uses Manic Panic. Definitely the best of the color creams out there right now. She bleaches her bangs and does the rainbow thing with them.
*shrug* I completely get what he’s saying re his work and not wanting to be influenced by peoples’ comments and opinions on it. He should probably keep it to himself tho’, don’t see why he feels the need to spell it out and (apparently) antagonise people..
Really couldn’t care less as long as he keeps making great comedy.
Codzilla…..that is a damn fine purple colour isn’t it?…..but I know what you mean, I have to bleach the shite out of my hair to have it take any colour but blue black – it’s a trade off
g….no matter how much he tries to pretend or how rich or famous he gets, Gervais really IS David Brent deep down—–and he knows it
It’s just his schtick (kind of like Larry David). He insults everyone.. he’s insulted paps, studio heads, fans and it’s usually in the context of his humor. He made some reference at the GG that the voters were idiots for not voting for ‘Ghost Town’ after he had to ‘kiss their arse for months’ or something like that. People laughed. He’s derisive and insulting because it’s made him millions. I like that he is a curmudgeon – it’s where the genius stems from, so I say keep insulting us Ricky!
I didn’t even know they were bringing back “Leave it to Beaver”. Boy Jerry Mathers looks good for his age doesn’t he.
Love That Hair Color Too!
Codzilla! et al Hair color lifts in different stages depending on Type of bleach/volume *only 20 on scalp*/ starting hair color natural or dye. Brown, Red Brown, Red, Red Orange, Orange, Yellow, Pale yellow. Go to the Later stage (NOT to white) & you can get those colors like Violet Virgin snow to counter that = WHITE!
He did bite the hand that fed him, how does he think the US got word of the UK version of the office.
KDRockstar would it still be harmless gossip if you were the subject?
Don’t get me wrong, I love reading gossip, but I don’t take a lot of it seriously. It would be hard to live in a world where everybody was spreading rumors about you, constantly. So I can see what he is saying, and if I were in his position, I wouldn’t read this sh*t either!
I refuse to insulted by a man who goes out in public with beef cattle.
perpetua: Thanks for the tips! I wish I’d known you 15 years ago. Although, while a head-full of purple hair would look silly on me now, there are always highlights, right? A 33 year old mom with purple highlights? Pathetic or still OK?
Codzilla if you’re brunette, it would look better than okay. Blond, not so much.
LOL @ Baho ……loves me some bubbles, they crack me up
Hey Codzilla, I think you should go for highlights. That women in the photo looks to be in her forties, and still looks stylin’
I agree with Diva-and others.. Ricky sort of bit the hand that feeds. If his show was getting bad reviews and no one was watching, I’d think it would be important for him to listen to what people are saying. Luckily he doesn’t have that problem, yet.
This guy is deficient, ego deficient. He just needs to be famous SO bad, without anything to offer except dinner theater jokes.
He’s the class clown who becomes popular because he’s in your face constantly and you can’t ignore him — not because anyone thinks he’s really funny. He wears you down out of sheer persistence.
So, he’s just like David Brent.
Baho/CC: Thanks for the input! My hair is dark brown so maybe I’ll give it a go.
Meh – difficult to get too upset by this, seeing as it’s coming from a man who completely encases his friends in sellotape when he’s bored
Are they at a BBQ? His date’s dress looks like a beach coverup. I think he’s talented even though he doesn’t care.
I like this fella he has fangs lol & doesn’t seem to take things too seriously. I don’t mind if he doesn’t want to view comments as he may feel it will change or mess up his gameplan. Quirky types make life interesting.
Codzilla your still a youngin! *_* Yes you can give it a go…there are some fun sites that show how or go to a pro e.g. hair boutique dot com in the hair color section ~ bunch of us hair enthusiasts that enjoy sharing ~ always strand test when doing stuff to get it just right!
Meh. Couldn’t that be said about most forums pertaining to most interests? I know my bf’s mountaineering website can get especially emotional and volatile over hunks of granite.
Codz – go for it! I really like the brand “Splat” – it goes nicely with my dark brown hair, and when it fades out it looks just as groovy as when I put it in. (I know it comes with an optional bleaching kit, but I’ve only used it once but it’s unnecessary, even with my dark hair.) I like to stripe a chunk piece of hair surrounding my face. It’s simple, it’s vibrant, and it gets you all the looks. If you know what I’m sayin’.
Love Ricky Gervais. Guess I can live with being deficient to him. Haha.
I think he is talking about having to block out criticism and compliments about his work when it comes to writing/creating, etc. I know that I almost failed out of art school my senior year running around trying to please everyone and taking everyone’s comments so seriously. It wasn’t until I stopped listening and did my own stuff that I was able to be happy with what I was making.
If this is what he has to do to make hilarious stuff then keep on doing it, because you know we’d all rip him to shreds if he slipped or became boring.
I love how this thread became more about hair than about him. Though that’s his shtick, I think it’s a bit egotistical? I do love The Office though.
I always wanted to throw a little scarlet red in my hair, with it dark brown now, but it would look better with black.. but my hair is naturally curly, so I’d have to straighten it constantly. I’m an artist, so I’m allowed, right? lol
The “it isn’t healthy” statement isn’t referring to the fans. It’s referring to HIM reading the sites. It’s not clear at first, but when you read the next paragraph it makes sense. He’s saying that, as an actor/writer/artist, he can’t go around listening to everyone weigh in on what he should be doing. He believes that trying to gauge the popular opinion would ultimately make his work suffer, so he’s just ignoring it all.
I mean, as a fan, I like it when my opinion is recognized as valid, but he has a completely legitimate point, and it’s his work. I don’t see anything wrong with this statement.
Who the hell is Ricky Gervais?
Just as you can be affected by praise and turn into an egomaniac, you can also become insecure about your work with critisim…ignore both and see what the ratings are is the best way to work in tv.
PS studies have shown that if you have a higher than average IQ you are more likely to read gossip!
Ricky Gervais is really a WOMAN! Just look at him.