It’s fair to say that Ricky Gervais is a man who provokes strong reactions from people, which, to be fair, is what he’s aiming for most of the time.
So it’s a good thing that he has an outlet like Twitter, through which he can respond to people being sarcastic, snotty or piss-takey about him and/or his work.
As with most of Gervais’ output, some won’t like his tone, but you got to give the guy props for engaging and trying to defend himself, when, really, he needn’t bother.
Here are some of his best responses and reactions to people online…
Short and sweet
(He ain’t lying: in 2013 he confirmed to GQ that he made “a crazy amount” of money from the US adaptation of his series, “more than anything else probably I’ve ever done. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, syndication.”)
Don’t be a dick, man
God damn!
My wealth and happiness would suggest that God definitely does love me. If he existed of course. Which he doesn't.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) June 2, 2016
Make your mind up for yourself…
His weirdly affectionate defence of our right to complain…
If you’re coming for Gervais, check your grammar…
Sometimes, a simple RT is enough of a response…
(Something tells us this elicits a separate response from the person)
On speaking vs listening…
UNFOLLOW
The world’s biggest troublemakers always first demonstrate their appetite for destruction in school…
Haha. I always got the blame for everything at school too, but this is ridiculous. https://t.co/AlRmJiR29S
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) May 12, 2016
And if you’re disappointed that you haven’t provoked a response from him yet, remember this:
Some of you are disappointed that I even engage with morons on Twitter. But either I change their mind or we have fun trying. Win : Win 🙂
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) June 1, 2016