Ricky Gervais increasing security on UK tour after death threats

Ricky Gervais is reportedly set to increase the security presence on his UK tour after receiving death threats.

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The comedian’s tour begins tomorrow (June 14) in Cardiff, and a source said that a full security review is being undertaken by his team because of the threats.

A source told The Sun that Gervais has been “made aware threats have been made to his life” related to jokes he has made, with the correspondence including “disturbing letters”.

They added: “Ricky is very aware of the dangers and he can afford whatever security he wants, so he thought it was a no-brainer.”

It is reported that some of the threats came in response to Gervais’ Netflix special SuperNature, which was criticised and accused of being “transphobic” upon its release last year.

In the special released last May, the controversial comedian makes numerous jokes about the trans community.

“Oh, women,” he begins. “Not all women, I mean the old-fashioned ones. The old-fashioned women, the ones with wombs. Those fucking 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 cocks. They’re as good as gold, I love them.

“And now the old-fashioned ones say, ‘For ladies!’ ‘They are ladies – look at their pronouns! What about this person isn’t a lady?’ ‘Well, his penis.’ ‘Her penis, you fucking bigot!’ ‘What if he rapes me?’ ‘What if she rapes you, you fucking TERF whore!’”

Around the release of the special, Gervais explained why he tackles taboo subjects in his stand-up shows.

“I deal with taboo subjects because I want to take the audience to a place it hasn’t been before,” Gervais said in an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. “There is a tension.

“I think people get offended when they mistake the subject of a joke with the actual target and smart people know you can deal with anything. Particularly when you’re dealing with something like irony.”

Elsewhere, the comedian explained how he experienced the “worst eight hours” of his life, following a brief illness.

He recalled the severe illness he faced earlier this year, and described to fans how it was something that left him vomiting every time he moved.

The post Ricky Gervais increasing security on UK tour after death threats appeared first on NME.