Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Netflix
Topics: UK News, Ricky Gervais, Netflix
Dominic Smithers
Elon Musk has come out in support of Ricky Gervais after his controversial new show came in for some criticism. Watch the trailer for the special here:
The long-awaited Netflix special SuperNature has received mixed reviews from those who've seen it, with a lot of people upset by some of the jokes the comedian makes.
A particular bone of contention has been gags Gervais' made regarding the trans community.
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In one part of the show, he jokes about urging trans women to 'lose the c**k'.
He says: "Oh, women. Not all women, I mean the old-fashioned ones. The ones with wombs. Those f**king dinosaurs.
"I love the new women. They’re great, aren’t they? The new ones we’ve been seeing lately. The ones with beards and c**ks."
And while the show has received over 90 percent from audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, it got just 14 percent from critics.
However, the Tesla boss has now come out and backed Gervais, saying critics don't know what they're talking about.
He said: "They are out of touch with the people, and so lose their credibility with the people."
Following the criticism he has received, Gervais explained what he was trying to do in his show.
Speaking to The Spectator , 60-year-old said: "My target wasn't trans folk, but trans activist ideology. I've always confronted dogma that oppresses people and limits freedom of expression.
"It was probably the most current, most talked about, taboo subject of the last couple of years. I deal in taboo subjects and have to confront the elephant in the room."
This comes after Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos spoke out about criticism levelled at Dave Chappelle and Gervais.
Both comedians have come under fire in recent months for controversial jokes they have both made about the transgender community.
Speaking in an interview with The New York Times, Sarandos went into the criticism the comedians have faced, backing the pair.
Sarandos noted that in order for comics to know where the 'line' is they must be prepared to cross it, admitting that not every piece of content on Netflix will be for everyone.
He said: “I think it’s very important to the American culture generally to have free expression.
"We’re programming for a lot of diverse people who have different opinions and different tastes and different styles, and yet we’re not making everything for everybody."