The confusing war of words between British comedian Ricky Gervais and his two-time bosses at the Golden Globes appears to have reached an end.
First, the acerbic funnyman was blasted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his take-no-prisoners hosting gig at the awards show, which he later claimed was well-received and no big deal. Then, Gervais was reportedly not invited back to host a third time, but denied that report in a magazine interview in which he claimed he was asked to return in 2012.
But on Tuesday, HFPA president Philip Berk released a statement that said in no uncertain terms, "There is no truth to this rumor. We have not asked him to come back. Nice try, Ricky."
Gervais, though, a master of stirring the pot, muddied the waters yet again on his blog late Tuesday, writing, "You may also have read that I am hosting next year's Golden Globes. This is not true. Not yet anyway. The TV show organizers said they were happy with everything and asked me to not rule out a third gig. However, it is not entirely up to them. The Hollywood Foreign Press and various other committees need to meet and agree. I have no idea if they want me back again. It depends whether they care about fifty delicate egos in the room or the 200 million people watching at home who want a laugh. Also, even if they did want me back, at the moment I'm pretty sure I shouldn't do it. But I'll tell you this. If they do invite me back and I accept, I'm going to pull exactly the same sh-- again or even worse. Once again, everyone has been warned."
Gervais clarified his comments later to The Hollywood Reporter, explaining explaining that he was mistaken when he referred to organizers and should have specified that he'd been asked by an executive at NBC, which aired the show.
"[The executive] called me and said he loved [the show], that it was great," Gervais told the Reporter about his January 16 hosting gig. "He said don't rule out a third gig. I said I don't think I'll do it again. I doubt I'll be invited back. And he said, just don't rule it out."
Gervais said he called Berk to explain the confusion because he was angry that the HFPA's statement made it seem like he was not telling the truth. "It's not fair," Gervais said. "I always tell the truth. ... So that's the thing that bothered me."
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