Ricky Gervais may have set a record for dishing out insults during his second stint hosting the Golden Globe Awards, but reports that the schtick earned him a spot on Hollywood's blacklist are "utter rubbish," his rep has exclusively told the Daily News.
Gervais was absent for much of the second half of Sunday night's Globes telecast, sparking rumors he'd been chastised by the Hollywood Foreign Press, which hands out the awards, for below-the-belt barbs aimed at many A-listers in the audience.
The comic's camp, however, calls the rumors "utter rubbish" fueled by "Twitter speculation," and Gervais himself reports the mood backstage was "great" and his extended time off-camera was nothing unusual.
"I did every single introduction I was meant to. There just happened to be a long gap," Gervais told the Daily News via email.
"This is because I was allowed to choose who I would introduce in advance. I obviously chose presenters who I had the best jokes for. (And who I knew had a good sense of humour). Everyone took it well and the atmosphere backstage and at the after show was great."
A rep for HFPA confirmed that there was no truth to the rumors that they had chastised the host during the show and that his time on stage "was not altered one iota."
However, the association's president, Philip Berk, who Gervais joked during the show that he had to help off the toilet and put his teeth back in, told The Hollywood Reporter that Gervais "crossed the line."
"Some of the things were totally unacceptable," he told THR. "Any of the references to individuals is certainly not something the Hollywood Foreign Press condones."
Reports circulated Monday citing Hollywood insiders saying the British funnyman had been banned from hosting future awards shows.
"Ricky will not be invited back to host the show next year, for sure," a source from Hollywood Foreign Press – which puts on the Globes – told Popeater.com gossip writer Rob Schuter.
But the HFPA released a statement on Monday praising the show as "among the best we've ever had and we were pleased."
Regardless, Gervais said he does not expect to return as host next year. After his hosting debut last year, Gervais was invited to return before the telecast ended. But not this year.
"That's ominous isn't it?" he said in an interview with USAToday.com. "So I probably won't be here next year."
As for celebrity reaction – some of them may be feeling the burn of Gervais' stinging punchlines.
Robert Downey Jr., who long battled addiction and whom Gervais joked was best known for his stints at the Betty Ford Center and Los Angeles Country Jail, said he was "beyond being offended."
"I prefer humor that doesn't have to make people feel bad," he told USAToday.com.
Bruce Willis was also a target – though remained stoic with the press after Gervais introduced the actor– Demi Moore's ex-husband – as the father of her current husband – the much younger Ashton Kutcher.
But someone has Gervais' back.
Fellow Brit Christian Bale -- who won Best Supporting Actor for a dramatic film for his role in "The Fighter" -- stood by his fellow countryman.
"That's what comedy's supposed to be about," he told EW.com of the host's jibes. "The guy's a genius."
FULL LIST OF GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS 2011 WINNERS!
FILM:
DRAMA - "The Social Network"
COMEDY - "The Kids Are All Right"
ACTOR, DRAMA - Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
ACTRESS, DRAMA - Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
ACTOR, COMEDY - Paul Giamatti, "Barney's Version"
ACTRESS, COMEDY - Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"
SUPPORTING ACTOR - Christian Bale, "The Fighter"
SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"
DIRECTOR - David Fincher, "The Social Network"
SCREENPLAY, FILM - Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Network"
ORIGINAL SCORE, FILM - Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, "The Social Network"
ORIGINAL SONG, FILM - Diane Warren, "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" (from "Burlesque")
ANIMATED FILM - "Toy Story 3"
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - "In a Better World" (Denmark)
TELEVISION:
DRAMA - "Boardwalk Empire"
COMEDY - "Glee"
MINISERIES/TV MOVIE - "Carlos"
ACTOR, DRAMA - Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"
ACTRESS, DRAMA - Katey Sagal, "Sons of Anarchy"
ACTOR, COMEDY - Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"
ACTRESS, COMEDY - Laura Linney, "The Big C"
ACTOR, MINISERIES/TV MOVIE - Al Pacino, "You Don't Know Jack"
ACTRESS, MINISERIES/TV MOVIE - Claire Danes, "Temple Grandin"
SUPPORTING ACTOR - Chris Colfer, "Glee"
SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Jane Lynch, "Glee" (Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Stacey Joyce and Peter Cooney)
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