Ricky Gervais should host the Golden Globes…forever

By Brad Sturdivant

Before I even begin, I want to clear something up; the Golden Globes are a joke. They are not a legitimate awards show and their sole purpose is to make money off TV viewers. They have no say-so on legitimate awards shows and have even less influence. They’ve been shrouded in controversy over the years, with the BUTTERFLY scandal in 1981, the SCENT OF A WOMAN scandal in 1992 and culminating with the lawsuit earlier this year by their former publicists, not to mention the investigations that have deemed the show to be a fraud. The Hollywood Foreign Press sounds like an official critics society, but don’t let the name fool you. The awards and nominations are for sale to the highest bidder.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the show is actually fun to watch. Without that, then the Golden Globes have zero purpose. So with that in mind, Ricky Gervais is the perfect host. He’s funny, he doesn’t care what people say about him and he brings in viewers. In the two years he’s been host, viewership for the Globes has increased. Bring him back next year and it will be up even more. People that have never watched a Golden Globes telecast will be glued to the TV to see what everyone was talking about last year. And when he rips someone and that person gets offended and makes a big deal over it, it’s what everyone will be talking about the next day. For a joke of an awards show, that’s about as big of a compliment as you can get.

I’m not contending the Globes should shut down or try to legitimize themselves, I’m saying the exact opposite. Stop trying to pretend you’re something you’re not and just milk this for all it’s worth. The HFPA has something “golden” here with Ricky Gervais. People are still taking about this meaningless show weeks after it aired. People don’t even talk about the Oscars that long and that award actually means something to the people that get them. Why would you even consider not bringing Ricky back? I know he angered people in the industry, but most actors and actresses take themselves too seriously anyway. Even if they hate Ricky Gervais, they’re still going to show up. An actor or actress will never miss a chance to be in front of a camera and promote their movie.

So pay the guy whatever he wants and give him free reign to say and do whatever he feels like. The HFPA needs to stop pretending like they’re not loving this attention. If he wants to insult and embarrass Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr. and Angelina Jolie all in one shot, then let him have at it. But what would be better for the HFPA and for the viewers is if the actors and actresses receiving these awards start taunting him right back. People stopped caring about these awards a long time ago, but with Ricky Gervais, there might be a way to get people to still watch the show.

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