Ricky Gervais: ‘Comedy appeals to the intellect, not the emotional.’

Ricky Gervais was on Piers Morgan last night, and The Comic’s Comic transcribed various bon mots of Mr. Gervais. Here’s a good one: “I think with comedy you should have no prejudices. As soon as you have prejudices, it falls down comedically. Comedy is an intellectual pursuit. Comedy appeals to the intellect, not the emotional. As soon as you go emotional, it stops being funny. It starts being rallying. That’s why a real racist joke isn’t funny, because it’s not true. And someone in the audience is going, ‘Well, he’s having a go at something that I can’t help. You have a go at things that people do. If someone goes crazy, and trashes a hotel room, talk about it. But you don’t talk about their sexuality, or the color of their skin.”

Ricky Gervais: ‘Comedy appeals to the intellect, not […]