Ricky Gervais' controversial Netflix special released including joke people were calling to be removed

After a whole load of controversy, a certain comedian’s special has now been released.

I mean, you could have your pick of names there, but at 8am today, Ricky Gervais’ special launched on Netflix.

And it includes a joke people were calling to be removed.

As Gervais promoted his new show Armageddon in the run-up to today, the joke shared caused a lot of controversy online.

You can watch the joke from the Netflix special here:

The After Life star jokes about being busy making videos for terminally ill children as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, saying that he only makes the clips if kids ask for them - rather than 'bursting into hospitals and going wake up baldy.'

Gervais adds how he always starts the videos to sick youngsters, with the question: "Why didn't you wish to get better?"

The 62-year-old clarifies he was definitely joking and didn’t use the same language in his jokes as he would in real life.

However, it’s not good enough for a lot of people who don’t see the ‘funny’ side of the sensitive content in his routine.

Matt Crockett/Netflix

As the special is now available to stream, Gervais has already warned potential viewers he discusses 'sex, death, paedophilia, race, religion, disability, free speech, global warming, the holocaust, and Elton John' in Armageddon - and if they 'don't approve of jokes about any of these things, then please don't watch’.

"You wont enjoy it and you’ll get upset," the Derek star wrote on X.

The previous sneak peek with the controversial skit prompted one parent whose child had cancer to launch a petition for it to be removed.

It slammed Gervais for being 'not only distasteful but also heartless', while criticising the 'derogatory language' he used and asked 'how a writer or anyone at Netflix could green light such appalling content'.

Ashley Cain, who sadly lost his daughter Azaylia to cancer in 2021, said he'd previously been a fan of Gervais, but 'making a mockery of dying children' had caused him to get 'so mad at this'.

Matt Crockett/Netflix

The comedian responded to claims of 'ableism' and the petition targeting his Armageddon routine, saying that he would even 'retweet' the appeal to Netflix.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Lives’ Nihal Arthanayake, he said: "In the actual skit, I say ‘I’ve been doing a lot of video messages lately for terminally ill children. Only if they request it. I don’t burst into hospitals and say, ‘wake up baldy.’”

"I’m literally saying in the joke that I don’t do that. But people have a reaction. They don’t analyse it. They feel something – that’s what offence is. It’s a feeling. That’s why ‘I’m offended’ is quite meaningless. What do you want me to change?"

The host then asked if Gervais had seen the specific wording of the petition, to which he replied: "Good luck. That’s what I say to them. Good luck. I’ll even retweet it."

Armageddon is now available to stream on Netflix.

Topics: Netflix, Ricky Gervais, TV and Film, Twitter, Cancer

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_