Ricky Gervais sparks culture war by claiming the working class are the only people comedians can mock without backlash

"People understand most power struggles. They understand why racism, homophobia and misogyny are wrong, but they are very disparaging about the working classes," Mr Gervais said.

"It's the one thing that it seems to be fine to take the mickey out of with no blowback at all."

The Office creator, who grew up in Reading with working-class parents, acknowledged that British comedy has long been preoccupied with class distinctions.

"We are obsessed with it, and so we should be, I think," he added.

Despite being nominated in the best stand-up category at next month's Golden Globes, Mr Gervais has confirmed he will not be attending the ceremony on January 11.

The five-time host of the awards show explained that the journey from London to Los Angeles simply does not appeal to him.

"I'm probably not going to the Golden Globes … It's too far to go," he told the programme.

"It takes a lot to get me off the couch with my cat and my girlfriend watching Netflix."

Mr Gervais, who lives in the capital with his partner Jane Fallon, expressed little enthusiasm for the promotional aspects of his career.

"I love the work, I love writing, I love creating, I love stand-up, but all the other stuff I could really do without," he said.

When asked whether he would alter any of his previous material, Mr Gervais maintained he harbours no regrets about his comedy output.

"You are a product of your time and you do make things for people of your time," he explained.

"I'd put trigger warnings on things, but I wouldn't go back and change something."

The comedian conceded that his approach might differ if he were starting out today.

"Do I regret anything? No. Would I do things differently now? Probably."

Mr Gervais also noted that he no longer targets disadvantaged groups in his material, reflecting how attitudes have shifted over the years.

Discussing his creative approach, he emphasised his commitment to authenticity in his television work.

"I only deal in realism. I don't do those heightened things. I don't do surreal stuff. I don't do fantastical stuff, I don't do high concept, I don't do time travel."

Mortality marks Mr Gervais's first Netflix special since Armageddon in 2023, and arrives three years after his 2022 release SuperNature sparked significant controversy over jokes about transgender people.

LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation GLAAD condemned that material as "dangerous, anti-trans rants masquerading as jokes".

Mr Gervais defended his approach at the time, arguing on The One Show that comedy should push audiences into uncomfortable territory.

"I want to take the audience to a place it hasn't been before, even for a split second," he said.

"Most offence comes from when people mistake the subject of a joke with the actual target."

When receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2025, Mr Gervais proclaimed victory over cancel culture.

"We've had a few weird years of cancel culture, people telling you what you can and can't laugh at or talk about – but we pushed back and we won until the next time," he told the gathered crowd.

The Office producer Ash Atalla has recently reflected on his decision to let Mr Gervais mock his disability at the 2001 British Comedy Awards.

Mr Atalla, who contracted polio as a child and uses a wheelchair, recalled how Mr Gervais joked that he was the show's runner and referred to him as "my little wheelchair friend".

Speaking on Desert Island Discs, Mr Atalla said: "I think when I look back on it, maybe I realise, or I feel I sold a bit of myself in that moment.

"I put the wheelchair front and centre, because I knew it was something that would set me apart, in that instance, set me apart in a good way."

The producer added: "And just in recent years, as I've thought about it, it's made me consider whether I was sort of right to do that."