Ricky Gervais calls Hollywood stars Jeffrey Epstein's friends during Golden Globes opening monologue
www.newsweek.com
Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais joked about Jeffrey Epstein during his opening monologue, skewering Hollywood stars in the audience about their past relationships with the late pedophile financier.
Gervais riffed about the rise of Netflix and his own show Afterlife on the streaming platform before landing the lines about Epstein to an audience of A-list actors and top movie executives that was laughing and groaning in equal measure.
"No one cares about movies anymore. No one goes to the cinema, no one really watches network TV. Everyone's watching Netflix," Gervais said during his Golden Globes monologue.
"This show should just be me coming out going, 'Well done Netflix, you win everything. Good night.' But no, no. We've got to drag it out for three hours. You could binge-watch the entire first season of Afterlife instead of watching this show.
"That's a show about a man who wants to kill himself because his wife dies of cancer and it's still more fun than this, OK? Spoiler alert: Season two is on the way so in the end he obviously didn't kill himself. Just like Jeffrey Epstein."
Hearing the audience's reaction of groans, Gervais retorted: "Shut up. I know he's your friend but I don't care. You had to make your own way here in your own plane, didn't you?"
Epstein, a former friend to the rich and famous, including Hollywood stars, royalty, and the political elite, killed himself back in August while awaiting trial in a Manhattan jail cell following his federal indictment for sex trafficking minors over the course of several years.
A new New York lawsuit filed in December alleged that Epstein's abuse of young girls started back in 1985. Some of Epstein's victims are attempting to claim compensation from his $577 million estate.
Epstein had served 13 months in a Florida jail after signing a plea deal in 2006, negotiated with then Florida Attorney General Alexander Acosta and controversial for its leniency, in which he admitted to solicitation of prostitution after being caught sexually abusing minors.
During his monologue, Gervais also taunted entertainment executives about the work of journalist Ronan Farrow who kicked off the MeToo movement by exposing the allegations of sexual assault around movie exec Harvey Weinstein.
"In this room are some of the most important TV and film executives in the world. People from every background. But they all have one thing in common: They're all terrified of Ronan Farrow. He's coming for you, he's coming for you," Gervais said.
Source www.newsweek.com