Ricky Gervais brutally fires back after facing complaints for 'mean' and 'cruel' drinks advert

In November 2025, Mr Gervais generated widespread attention after claiming several “honest” billboard concepts had been rejected by Transport for London.

The comedian shared a number of slogans he said were turned down, including: “Welcome to London. Don’t forget your stab vest”, “Drugs this good are usually illegal”, and “One day you’ll be underground for good”, all intended for use on London transport and tube stations.

Another rejected line, which read “You’ll make everyone late for work”, was described by Mr Gervais as a deliberately bleak joke aimed at people who jump onto train tracks.

Mr Gervais’ official video adverts for the brand typically feature him speaking directly to camera, often discouraging viewers from buying the vodka altogether to avoid breaching advertising regulations.

In one clip, he tells audiences it would be “a waste of money” and suggests they should instead “buy a book or a house plant”.

The actor frequently jokes about advertising codes that prevent alcohol brands from claiming their products make people more attractive or confident, instead describing vodka bluntly as “a drug that gets you p*****d”.

Despite the humour, the adverts also highlight that the vodka is made from British apples and produced at a carbon-neutral distillery.

Among the campaigns that were approved and appeared on public transport across London were slogans such as: “The only time you’ll see Ricky on a bus”, and “Welcome to London, hold onto your phone”.

On Wednesday, the vodka brand creator took to X to share one of his latest adverts, which appears to have been AI-generated, and not an image of a real billboard.

The image, placed on the side of a gym, shows the comedian standing, holding a tape measure around his waist, with a bottle of vodka in the corner.

Let’s see how long this stays up 😂 pic.twitter.com/eCeGRyANXI

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) January 6, 2026

The slogan reads: “Lose weight fast you fat pig.”

“Let’s see how long this stays up,” Mr Gervais captioned the image, followed by a laughing emoji.

Many fans reacted positively, flooding the comments with praise.

“Incredible,” one wrote, while another said: “The juxtaposition of the foreground and background creates a fascinating tension. Curious to see if it lasts.”

Others described the advert as “brilliant”, with one supporter adding: “Thanks for the motivation, Ricky!”

However, the post also attracted criticism, including one sarcastic comment which read: “Lose weight and become an alcoholic instead of a fat pig! Fun times.”

One critic, who appeared particularly offended by the advert, engaged in a lengthy exchange with Mr Gervais before later deleting their original comment.

Responding to the criticism, the comedian asked what the issue was.

The user replied: “This kind of self-serving meanness and cruelty towards people struggling with body issues is not anything new or inventive. I don’t understand why I should appreciate something like that.”

The exchange escalated after the user added: “You’re a f****** TV comedian, not some AIDS researcher.”

When Mr Gervais asked how the advert had personally affected them, the user claimed their oldest friend had taken his own life in 2004 after years of being subjected to fat-shaming abuse.

In response, Mr Gervais shared screenshots of several tweets he had found from the users own account, captioned “Shame on you then”.

The posts included references to the user describing their own “fat ass”, making jokes about actor Steven Seagal’s weight, and referring to a woman as a “fat chick”.

The user accused Mr Gervais of hypocrisy, arguing that their comments were not displayed publicly as advertisements.

“That ad isn’t on any walls,” Mr Gervais replied. “It’s just a tweet like yours.”

When the critic claimed the post existed purely to insult overweight people, Mr Gervais defended the campaign as a marketing strategy.

“There is a point to it,” he wrote. “It raises awareness around the product by sparking conversation. It does that even better on the internet than on walls.”

He concluded: “People talk about it so more people become aware of the product. That’s how advertising and marketing usually work. Please say you understand now.”