Ricky Gervais feels stung by some of the criticism that comes his way.
The 57-year-old comedian is known for making controversial jokes during his stand-up routines, but Ricky has revealed he’s constantly wrestling with his own thoughts and ideas.
Asked whether he ever edits himself, Ricky shared: "Every day. I lie awake every night going: ‘Should I say that? Can I defend that? Is anyone going to take that personally? Is that cruel?’ Everything I do."
The ‘Office’ star revealed that in spite of his brash exterior, he’s still conscious of the criticism he attracts.
Ricky also believes his critics underestimate the amount of preparation he puts into his comedy shows.
He told the Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine: "This is what gets to me: I do a routine to about 800,000 people live on tour, it goes on Netflix and is watched by 40 million people, then someone does a snobby blog and thinks they’ve put more thought into a joke than I did. No! I’ve been working on every one of those routines for a year.
"They’ve been road-tested to millions of people. This is tested on humans!"
Ricky also thinks a subtle cultural change has made the life of a comedian even tougher.
He explained: "It’s harder, because up until a couple of years ago I’d say the wrong thing for comic effect and everyone got it. Now they’re going: ‘No, there are people who actually think that!"
Ricky has more than 13 million followers on Twitter – but he’s seemingly tiring of the platform.
The stand-up star said: "There’s so much noise now. Anyone can be on Twitter, their tweet can sit alongside Richard Dawkins as though it has the same sort of credibility."
Ricky Gervais feels stung by criticism
