Ricky Gervais tore into Apple at the Golden Globes on Sunday night with Apple CEO Tim Cook present in the audience.
After praising „The Morning Show“ – which is made by Apple – as „a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing,“ the British comedian said it was „made by a company that runs sweatshops in China.“
Addressing the audience at large, Gervais also quipped: „You say you’re woke, but the companies you work for, unbelievable. Apple, Amazon, Disney. If ISIS started a streaming service, you’d call your agent, wouldn’t you?“
„The Morning Show“ lost out to „Succession“ at the awards for best drama series.
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Ricky Gervais took a bite out of Apple and the entertainment industry at the Golden Globes.
Hosting the annual Hollywood awards ceremony on Sunday night, Gervais touched on Apple’s entry into streaming by praising „The Morning Show.“ But he went on to lambast the company’s labor practices.
Gervais said Apple had „rolled into the TV game with a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing, made by a company that runs sweatshops in China.“
It’s a reference to Apple’s partnership with the Chinese manufacturing company Foxconn, which assembles the iPhone. Both Apple and Foxconn have been found to have violated Chinese labor laws and used illegal student labor to build the iPhone.
Awkwardly, Apple CEO Tim Cook was sitting in the audience. The camera didn’t pan to see Cook’s expression after the „sweatshops“ remark, but it did show him smiling directly beforehand in reaction to Gervais‘ praise of „The Morning Show.“
Foto: Apple CEO Tim Cook at the 2020 Golden Globes.sourceNBC/YouTube
Gervais then directed his barbs toward any actors who appeared in shows streaming on services run by Apple, Amazon, or Disney.
„You say you’re woke, but the companies you work for, unbelievable,“ he said. „Apple, Amazon, Disney. If ISIS started a streaming service, you’d call your agent, wouldn’t you?“
He continued: „If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech. You’re not in a 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“ – the 17-year-old climate activist. „So, if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your god, and f— off.“
As it happens, „The Morning Show“ did not bring home any awards. Though it was nominated for best television drama, it lost out to HBO’s „Succession,“ while its stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon lost out to the „Crown“ star Olivia Colman for best performance by an actress in a television series.
You can watch Gervais‘ potshot at Apple here:
mcdj on January 6th, 2020 at 18:59 UTC »
That joke stung a person in the room who everyone could point to, but the Epstein joke probably stung a lot of people in the room you couldn’t point to. And the Weinstein joke basically stung the entire room.
Jaikarro on January 6th, 2020 at 15:07 UTC »
You can tell this guy is really upsetting the setup, that's why millionaires are consistently paying him millions to speak in front of other millionaires.
oooriole09 on January 6th, 2020 at 14:07 UTC »
I bet Cook is stoked that the only time Apple was mentioned was in the monologue after all that money they put into Apple TV