How Ricky Gervais Changed an Awards Show Forever

In Hollywood, award shows come around every year to recognise the best in showbiz. Hundreds of the richest and most famous people gather to celebrate their achievements that year. The Oscars. Emmys. BAFTAs. Nights where everyone applauds each other, laughs politely and acts respectful. Nights when actors felt comfortable. But when Ricky Gervais started hosting the Golden Globes, that routine went out the window. Instead, he brought a sense of realness and a night of humbling and calling out the hypocrisy from the world's most famous people. And the more times he came back, the more brutal his jokes got. When they said, do you want to host the Golden Globes, all that stuff I said in the show was true. I said, I'm going to write my own jokes, and I thought, who do I pander to? The 200 richest people in the room or the 200 million people watching at home who aren't winning awards, who aren't millionaires. And it was a no-brainer. And if they can't take a gentle ribbing, and they've got everything already, they've got everything. You can take the mickey out of their film or their hair or something. And that was the days when they were revered, where people thought you shouldn't take the mickey out of these wonderful people. Since the Golden Globes began in 1944, the ceremony didn't really have a set host. In 2010, there was a big turning point when they embraced the headline comedian as part of the show. And Ricky Gervais became the first host in 15 years. When he walked out to host the 2010 Golden Globes, the room didn't quite know what it was in for. Being from the UK, he had a detachment from the people in the room and was from a different culture with a different humor. Straight away, it was clear he wasn't there to keep things polite. Instead of easing the audience in, Ricky went straight at them, starting with Steve Carell, making jokes about The Office, promoting his own version. He joked about Hollywood egos, made jokes about himself having a tiny cock, about actors taking themselves too seriously, saying how would the world possibly survive if actors ever went on strike, repeatedly calling them the most important people on the planet. And while they were jokes, there was clearly a hint of truth in pretty much everything he was saying. Minus the cock joke. I don't know if that's true. The audience were laughing, but as you'd expect for A-listers, they weren't exactly comfortable. And then came the moment people still point to as the tone setter from his first time hosting. Ricky turned his attention to Mel Gibson, referencing his recent DUI scandals. And this would be the first time Ricky directly mentioned Mel Gibson at the Golden Globes, with his jokes only getting more personal as the years went on. After each joke, the camera immediately cuts to reaction shots. One of the best parts of the show, which gets even better in later years. The following morning, coverage of the Golden Globes barely mentioned the winners, and Ricky received a mixed response. Reuters.com said, satirising self-promotion by plugging DVDs for his own creations, The Office and The Invention of Lion, Small Penis Yucks, NBC Pot Shots, but others found it hilarious. Either way, one thing was agreed, Golden Globes felt different for a change. It was unpredictable, and most importantly, people had actually watched it. So while a lot of people in the room might have hated it, the people at home definitely didn't. And it was enough for them to invite him back to host the next year. While it might have seemed controversial at the time, his 2010 monologue would be extremely tame compared to what was to come. If anyone expected a toned down version the next year, they misunderstood him completely. In 2011, the jokes felt more targeted. Ricky went straight after Charlie Sheen, ripping him to shreds within the first minute. He also directly joked about Hugh Hefner in one of my favourite parts of the monologue. Comparing it with the year before, this year felt slightly more different. Some people were laughing, but camera operators were cutting away faster than the year before because those shots were evidence, evidence of who found which joke funny. So actors started becoming more conscious of this, not wanting to be caught laughing at the wrong joke, and reactions were mixed again. By now, actors knew beforehand that jokes would be coming their way. They knew that if they decided to go to the Golden Globes, Ricky Gervais might come after them. He'd had two years now to test the waters and find out what tolerance the actors had. But the big difference that would become more obvious, but even more hilarious as the years went on, was the divide between British humour and American humour. American comedy, at least back then, was safer. The humour was more universal. Jokes that everyone found funny were normalised. And they were more cautious about taking it too far. Even the C word, which I can't say on here. In America, it was offensive. Whereas in the UK, it's pretty normal to call someone that, whether that's in a positive way or a negative way. And in the UK, there's a lot more sarcasm and dry delivery. Take comedy shows as an example too. In America, a lot of the characters are lovable. Modern family, fresh Prince of Bel-Air. They even live lavish lifestyles. Whereas in the UK, the characters are usually losers. For example, The Office or The Inbetweeners. They're meant to be nasty or a bit pathetic. So Ricky's star in the early years wasn't always well received because the room of predominantly American actors didn't understand the British humour. But that did not stop the Hollywood foreign press from bringing him back. And the reason was because the ratings were up. The awards were being spoken about on news and chat shows for weeks after. Which is why, despite rumours they wouldn't bring him back, he was invited back to present again the year after. And he acknowledged it straight away. So, where was I? Um, nervous? Don't be. This isn't about you. He didn't pretend that their relationship was warm. Instead, he leaned into the idea that he wasn't welcome or wanted. Some highlights include when he said Golden Globes is to the Oscars, what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton. He even made a joke about Jodie Foster. They actually gave me a list of rules. I'm going to ignore them, but I thought it'd be good to read them out. And I mustn't mention Mel Gibson this year. Not his private life, his politics, his recent films, and especially not Jodie Foster's Beaver. Um, I haven't seen it myself. Um, I've spoken to a lot of guys here, they haven't seen it either. But that doesn't mean it's not any good. The crowd reaction shots became a way in which people judged celebrities. Jodie Foster's two thumbs up to the camera only made her seem more likeable. And the idea was that if someone wasn't laughing at a joke, they probably thought, oh ----, I'm next. It wasn't just the actors he joked about. Even though the Hollywood foreign press kept bringing him back to present, they were always at the centre of his jokes, making jokes about the Hollywood foreign press president and how the Golden Globes can be purchased. But this time, there were less positives about his hosting, with many outlets calling it boring, even being labelled as kind in the comments compared to what was to come. Gervais appeared once during the first hour, three times during the second, and four times during the final hour. Why have him host then? Quick reminder that 98% of you who watch the channel aren't subscribed. Maybe you've just forgotten, or maybe you don't want to. Either way, if you would like to and help support the channel, I'd appreciate it. Make sure you hit subscribe for videos like this every week. That one subscription goes a long way. By the end of 2012, Ricky Gervais had switched the format of the awards. Booking a host year on year became part of the show. And that left the organisers with a decision. Switch up the host. Or keep Ricky again. From 2013 to 2015, they decided to switch to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. These years, the atmosphere was much more relaxed. With the two female hosts, the jokes were still there, but the awards were less around exposing Hollywood. The jokes punched enough to be clever, but never left any bruises. And the awards were well received. The hosts were praised. But there was a change. The days after, there were less headlines and less viral clips. Over those years, social media was growing and becoming louder. There was a growing distrust of celebrities. And the kind of humour Ricky brought years earlier felt less out of place. So when he was brought back in 2016, the public were pretty happy. He joked about Jennifer Lawrence demanding equal pay for women, whilst having a net worth of $50 million. He joked about Caitlyn Jenner's transformation. And called Adam Sandler's comedy film Pixels less funny than Schindler's List. The joke still included shock value, but it was a better balance. And still, he made it clear, whether joking or not, that he didn't care that much about the awards. This year was arguably the best one yet, because the cultural mood had finally caught up to him. Exposing Hollywood, even if it was for one night, for the regular person around the world, was satisfying. And he once again went for Mel Gibson. A clip which was completely muted from the broadcast, in which he said to Mel, What the f*** does sugar tits even mean? Referencing a phrase Mel Gibson said to a female police officer back in 2006. When he was arrested for a DUI. During which, he went on an anti-semitic rant towards the police. Which is why Ricky signed the year's hosting off by saying, From me and Mel Gibson, shalom. But the whole time, Mel Gibson took it well and seemed to be in good spirits. But the final nail in the coffin wouldn't come until 2020. In that gap, the awards tested different hosts each year. With Jimmy Falun in 2017. Seth Meyers in 2018. And Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh in 2019. Leading up to Ricky's fifth and final time hosting the Golden Globes in 2020. From the opening moments, he made it clearer than ever, he had nothing to lose because it was his last time. And this monologue was the most memorable of them all. The reaction shots from the audience told you everything you needed to know. Actors like Tom Hanks in shock at what he was hearing, while others found it hilarious. He joked about Jeffrey Epstein, saying he knows he was their friend but he doesn't care. He joked about Harvey Weinstein, Leonardo DiCaprio's young girlfriends, even Dame Judi Dench and her role in the movie Cats. But Dame Judi Dench defended the film, saying it was the role she was born to play. Because she, I can't do this next joke. Because she loves nothing better than plonking herself down on the carpet, lifting her leg and licking her own minge. Furball, furball. She's old school. He walked in a British gentleman and walked out an American hero. Arguably the single greatest moment in the history of television. I love how almost everyone looks appalled except for the old gangster table. He went on stage and said what the rest of the world thought. If you do win an award tonight, don't use it as a platform to give a political speech. You're in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. The day after, the Golden Globes were being spoken about more than ever, all because of Ricky's monologue. For years, Ricky had been accused of going over the line, but this time he aligned with everyone watching at home and the Golden Globes had never been more relevant. In his decade of presenting the awards, Ricky Gervais transformed the Golden Globes from a polite celebration into a moment people actually paid attention to. And over his five times hosting the awards, he set the mood for how it should go in the future. And although he said it's the last time, he has been asked if he would ever do it again. What would it take for you to host the Golden Globes again? That is so stressful. It ruins Christmas because I have to worry about writing jokes. They're hard coming up with those jokes because it's not what I do usually and they've got to work. You can't even practice them. I don't think people know how hard it is to just do it. Get those jokes past censors. Say things to people's faces. Actually say it in front of huge corporations, CEOs, you know, the biggest producers, broadcasters of the world. You know, I do it like I couldn't give a ----, but it's hard work to do it as well as you can. You don't just... Even if you come up with how good it is, a lot of people worry about it. So you've got to fight to make it good even if you've come up with something that's good because everyone's scared of complaints and everyone wants to please everyone. And that's why they're usually anodyne. It's tough to get your own way to make it as good as you know you can make it. I don't know why I bother. You'll miss me when I'm gone. But now with comedians like Nikki Glaser hosting the awards, the Golden Globes has continued to be a night where the most famous actors in the world get jokes thrown at them. So for that, the people have Ricky Gervais to thank.