The annual Golden Globes Awards ceremony is one of the biggest events in Hollywood.
Every year, film and TV fans across the world tune in to the ceremony, which is all about 'honouring excellence in film and American television productions'.
Now, while this year the 83rd Golden Globes Awards will be streamed live on 11 January from the Beverly Hilton, the nominations came out last month (8 December).
And British comedian and actor Ricky Gervais, who has hosted the awards ceremony five times, in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, and 2020, has been nominated for a gong, yet he will not be attending the ceremony for a very specific reason.
Gervais, 64, famous for starring as David Brent in the UK version of The Office - a role which actually saw him win a Golden Globe award in 2004 - has been nominated in the 'best stand-up comedy performance' category for his Mortality Netflix special.
Ricky Gervais won't be attending the 83rd Golden Globes (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images) Other celebrities in the same category include:
- Bill Maher - Is Anyone Else Seeing This?
- Brett Goldstein - The Second Best Night of Your Life
- Kevin Hart - Acting My Age
- Kumail Nanjiani - Night Thoughts
- Sarah Silverman - Sarah Silverman: PostMortem
Gervais, who has won four Golden Globe awards across two decades, recently revealed that the reason he won't be attending the Los Angeles evening is that, simply put, it's 'too far to go'.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s This Cultural Life, he explained: "I didn’t have any joy watching my fat face on screen. I just want peace and quiet …
"I’m probably not going to the Golden Globes … It’s too far to go. It takes a lot to get me off the couch with my cat and my girlfriend [Jane Fallon] watching Netflix. I love the work, I love writing, I love creating, I love stand-up, but all the other stuff I could really do without."
Gervais has delivered several iconic Golden Globe speeches in his career (Handout / Handout / Getty Images) Gervais has a pretty historic relationship when it comes to the Golden Globes, following the controversial Judi Dench 'm*nge' joke in 2020 as well as the NSFW Jason Momoa joke that was removed altogether from the Golden Globes.
During his hosting years, the After Life star has expertly monologued with his signature roasting of Hollywood elites, grilling major corporations and calling out industry hypocrisy.
Arguably most iconically, he directly advised winners not to use their acceptance speeches as a platform for 'out of touch' political statements: "You're in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg."
He ended this advice, in his 2020 speech, by telling winners to 'come up, accept your little award, thank your agent, and your God and f*ck off'.