“F****** Blasphemy? It’s 2021 for f***’s sake”
The comedian Ricky Gervais is well-known for his straight-talking and sarcastic sense of humour.
It came as no surprise when he reacted to the news that a school teacher from a Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire was suspended after showing his class an ‘offensive’ cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.
A depiction of the prophet Muhammad in itself is often deemed problematic and disrespectful in the Islamic way-of-thinking.
Following the incident, several parents protested outside the school gates on Thursday morning last week.
Gervais publicly reacted to the row on social media.
He said on Twitter: “Blasphemy? F****** Blasphemy? It’s 2021 for f***’s sake. What next? People being punished for insulting unicorns?”
Blasphemy? Fucking Blasphemy? It's 2021 for fuck's sake. What next? People being punished for insulting unicorns?
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) March 26, 2021
Nicky Campbell, of BBC 5 Live Breakfast, replied saying: “That’s offensive. I’m offended.”
However, the After Life star has publicly campaigned for free speech for several years, so it is no surprise that he got involved in the row pertaining to free speech and religion.
The headteacher of Batley Grammar School, Gary Kibble, said: “The school unequivocally apologises for using a totally inappropriate resource in a recent religious studies lesson.
“The member of staff has also given their most sincere apologies.
“We have immediately withdrawn teaching on this part of the course and we are reviewing how we go forward with the support of all the communities represented in our school.”
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, was against the idea that lessons in school should be censored.
He said: “This is a country based on free speech and teachers should be able to tackle difficult and controversial issues in the classroom – and issues should not be censored,” the Independent reported.
