British comic Ricky Gervais will host the Golden Globes film awards again next year, organisers said Wednesday, despite having ruffled a few feathers with his edgy humour last year. “After weeks of rumours, it’s finally official – Ricky Gervais will be back to host the Golden Globes for a third year,” said a statement by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which organises the annual awards. “While many welcome Gervais’s return, not everyone is happy with the decision because last year his blunt one-liners targeting big-name celebrities caused anger and resentment in some quarters,” the HFPA said.
Minutes after the announcement, Gervais took a dig at Billy Crystal, named last week to host the Academy Awards. “Just told Billy Crystal he’d better not use any of my Holocaust or pedophile material at The Oscars. He agreed (true),” Gervais wrote on his Twitter feed. Gervais came under fire for remarks about Mel Gibson’s alleged anti-Semitism, Robert Downey Jr’s past drug problems and Charlie Sheen’s reputation for drinking.
