Ricky Gervais Says He’s Been Invited to Host the Golden Globes Again

When Ricky Gervais hosted the Golden Globes earlier this year, his irreverent jokes led nominees and presenters to turn on him during the broadcast. But a few days later, a source said NBC would let him host again, and it might be true: Gervais himself says he's been invited back to host the show again in 2012.

Gervais was at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival last week to promote his new series, "Life's Too Short." During an interview with Richard Bacon, Gervais claimed that NBC had asked him back, but that he wasn't interested: "It's a second encore. Don't do a second encore. I don't think I should do it." Gervais further added that he was on a list of possible Oscar hosts, but that he didn't want to do that, either. "It's a thankless task for a comedian. They don't want to hear jokes, they want to hear if they have won the most important award of their career."

I mean, he's not wrong. He's also not wrong to note, "It wasn't a roomful of wounded soldiers....It was the most privileged people on the planet who spend all day pretending to be someone else." But it sure didn't take long for Gervais to turn the corner from beloved comic genius to embarrassing blowhard. The Golden Globes gig this year was the beginning of his decline. Nor did Gervais cover himself with glory as the moderator for HBO's "Talking Funny" this spring: If you saw it, you will have noticed Chris Rock regarding him with open contempt and basically calling him a standup-comedy dilettante. Then there was this magazine cover. Guy! We know you're an atheist! The 400th time you said it, it kind of lost its impact!

At the Festival, Gervais admitted that he was considering the offer to host the Golden Globes again. It's certainly possible that NBC is willing to throw enough money at him, in order to secure the kind of coverage for the next telecast that the last one got, to make Gervais take it seriously. Gervais's recent behavior and remarks have already gone a long way toward alienating his fans. Hosting the Golden Globes again after trashing the whole enterprise would be a very efficient way for Gervais to convince those fans that, despite his iconoclastic self-image, he's a total sellout after all.

Previously:

Golden Globes Host Ricky Gervais Doesn't Pull His Punches With Hollywood A-Listers

Watch a Behind-the-Scenes Clip from Ricky Gervais's New Show, 'Life's Too Short'