No doubt you’ve seen or heard about Ricky Gervais’ stint as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he tells the “comedic” story of how nuts weren’t available on his flight because a highly allergic passenger was aboard and how that wasn’t his problem. He riffed about rubbing nut residue all over his body before the next trip so when a passenger suffered an anaphylactic reaction, they wouldn’t know he was the cause.
While he makes a living being “irreverent”, we doubt Gervais would tell a story about feeding poison to the passenger with a physical disability that delayed the flight or quietly strangling a fellow passenger with a cognitive handicap because he was disturbing his first-class experience.
Why then, did he choose to denigrate a passenger with a severe food allergy that required a minor accommodation, like forgoing nuts on a flight?
Because Ricky Gervais is an idiot.
And because he’s an idiot who will simply dismiss this as a reaction from a group that is overly sensitive to his humor, we’ll address this to Stephen Burke, President and CEO of NBC instead: Once again, your network has shown insensitivity to the food allergy community, first on the Today Show, now on Tonight. Enough.
There is absolutely no need – or justification – for denigrating an entire class of people suffering from a life-threatening affliction that may someday claim your child or grandchild. We are all stricken with fear that the next reaction our loved one experiences may be fatal. Stop now.
Don’t be an idiot like Ricky Gervais.
I read, only recently of a young lady, 20 I believe, from Canada who had just met a new love in her life and because he was not yet aware of her allergy…..he had cleaned his teeth and eaten a peanut butter sandwich…… he kissed her good night……………… 8 minutes later she was dead…….. she didn’t have her Epipen with her and the ambulance was too late………. He was totally distraught!!………. I like your humour Ricky but this was totally insensitive to people with peanut allergy and the very dangerous situations they can find themselves in……. because many people without it see it as a JOKE !!!!!!!!!
Well said- sometimes you just need to say it like it is. I am going to try to be the better person and assume that Mr. Gervais is desperately hurting for media numbers so this was his poor judgement of how to up his ratings. Still not the best choice and yes, shame on NBC for also being on the bandwagon for their ratings. Just remember that as mad as our food allergy community gets about these situations, we would still help this idiot in a heartbeat if he or his family happened to come face to face with a life threatening allergy situation. So in the end, we still win ~
There is a Gluten Free and Allergen Free Food Expo being held in Worcester MA on the 23rd and 24th July. I would formally challenge Ricky and the Management of NBC to attend and learn something about their viewers, their community and why such trivialization of an important public health issue is irresponsible and dangerous. I doubt they will have the courage to take up the offer, but one never knows.
But he would talk about quietly strangling a passenger with a cognitive disability because they were ruining his 1st class experience. He regularly degrades people who are intellectually disabled. He had a character called “Mong” in one of his “comedic routines”. And when called out on it, blatantly said he had nothing to apologize for. He is a despicable human being all around. That he would make light of an allergy that can kill someone, and joke about them going into anaphylaxic shock does not surprise me in the least. It’s exactly the kind of thing he would do. He’s a pos. This is just more proof
What an ignorant bastard! Coming on national tv and saying something so negative! if you don’t have nuts on a flight for a few hours, you won’t die. But G-D forbid if someone with a nut allergy comes into contact whether it’s airborne or by touch they can go into an anaphylactic reaction! SHAME ON YOU RICKY GERVAIS AND SHAME ON NBC FOR ALLOWING SUCH A COMMENT TO AIR AND NOT APOLOGIZING FOR IT! IGNORANT MORONS!!!!!