Ricky Gervais has never shied away from controversy when hosting the Golden Globes, but he’s had his doubts that his unfiltered brand of comedy would fly at the Oscars. Even though he didn’t think he’d be a contender for hosting, Ricky did admit that he’d love the job, if he could take the same approach to when he hosts the Globes during a hilarious Thursday January 20 interview on The View.
Sunny Hostin asked Ricky about a recent Today interview, where he said he’d never get to host the Academy Awards. He did think that he could be offered the opportunity, but without the type of agreement that he had with the Golden Globes. “I might be allowed to host it if I did what I was told, but there’s the rub. The good thing about the Globes was they said that I could write my own jokes, say what I want ,and not rehearse, and that is just too good for a comedian to turn down,” he said.
While he did admit that it would be an amazing chance, Ricky also agreed that he wouldn’t expect the Oscars to give him that level of control. “I don’t think the Oscars ever would allow me that freedom, and rightly so. I think they’d be mad,” he quipped, but admitted that it’d be hard to down if he was given the chance. “I’d do it for free if they said I could do that!”
Of course, Ricky has had plenty of hilarious moments as the Golden Globe host over the years. He hasn’t shied away from making blue and occasionally below the belt jokes during his stints as host of the award show, including when he hosted in 2020 and made a few dirty jokes at Dame Judy Dench’s expense.
After The Office star made his bombshell offer, Whoopi Goldberg mentioned that she thought the Oscars would “adore” him as a host. She also offered to use her star power to “talk to a couple of people,” and maybe help him take the stage. When Ana Navarro pointed out that he’d offered to do it for free, Ricky joked that his agent was probably calling him.