WIST Quotations

Gervais, Ricky -- “Why I’m an Atheist,” Wall Street Journal (19 Dec 2010)

Dave — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 00:24:31 +0000

“Do unto others …” is a good rule of thumb. I live by that. Forgiveness is probably the greatest virtue there is. But that’s exactly what it is -‐ a virtue. Not just a Christian virtue. No one owns being good. I’m good. I just don’t believe I’ll be rewarded for it in heaven. My reward is here and now. It’s knowing that I try to do the right thing. That I lived a good life. And that’s where spirituality really lost its way. When it became a stick to beat people with. “Do this or you’ll burn in hell.”

You won’t burn in hell. But be nice anyway.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
“Why I’m an Atheist,” Wall Street Journal (19 Dec 2010)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Interview with Chris Heath, GQ (15 May 2013)

Dave — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:53:25 +0000

If you can’t joke about the most horrendous things in the world, what’s the point of jokes? What’s the point in having humor? Humor is to get us over terrible things. That’s all it’s for. That’s why you should laugh at funerals. Of course it’s the wrong thing to say. That’s why it’s funny.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Interview with Chris Heath, GQ (15 May 2013)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Interview with Chris Heath, GQ (15 May 2013)

Dave — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 21:37:12 +0000

I love animals. Growing up, the two things that made my blood boil were religious intolerance and animal cruelty. I’ve never understood it. I can’t stand to have an animal in pain. I’ve got to get it out of my head. It makes me angry, I want to cry, I want to stab someone. I don’t know where that comes from, really.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Interview with Chris Heath, GQ (15 May 2013)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Interview with Chris Heath, GQ (15 May 2013)

Dave — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 03:44:57 +0000

GERVAIS: Whenever I do a thing about animals, there’s always someone that goes, “What about children dying in Syria?” Yeah, that’s bad, too — can’t we care about both? Sometimes I go, “You carry on all your good work for the fucking children in Syria, and I’ll do this.” I love the fact that there’s a hierarchy of things that you’ve got to care about. I tweeted “I love humans — they’re just not my favorite animal.” That was to annoy people.

GQ: True, though?

GERVAIS: No, I’m not a maniac. Of course humans are my favorite animal. [pauses] But I’ve never met an animal who was a cunt.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Interview with Chris Heath, GQ (15 May 2013)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Interview with Scott Raab, Esquire (12 Jan 2012)

Dave — Wed, 11 May 2016 13:46:01 +0000

You should make something. You should bring something into the world that wasn’t in the world before. It doesn’t matter what it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s a table or a film or gardening — everyone should create. You should do something, then sit back and say, “I did that.”

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Interview with Scott Raab, Esquire (12 Jan 2012)
(Source)

Variant: "If you spend your days doing what you love, it is impossible to fail. So I go about my days trying to bring something into the world that wasn’t in the world before. And then everyone gets furious about it. And then I sit back and say, 'I did that!'" [Biography interview (11 Jan 2016)]

Gervais, Ricky -- Tweet (12 Oct 2013)

Dave — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 00:21:36 +0000

Just because you’re offended, doesn’t mean you’re right.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Tweet (12 Oct 2013)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Tweet (7 Oct 2014)

Dave — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 18:17:23 +0000

The best advice I’ve ever received is, “No one else knows what they’re doing either.”

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Tweet (7 Oct 2014)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Twitter (11 Sep 2012)

Dave — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 01:22:42 +0000

Your God is the best God.
In fact, he’s the only God.
All other Gods are ridiculous, made up rubbish.
Not yours though. Yours is real.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Twitter (11 Sep 2012)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Twitter (13 Oct 2013)

Dave — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 15:42:12 +0000

Ignorance might be bliss for the ignorant, but for the rest of us it’s a right fucking pain in the arse.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Twitter (13 Oct 2013)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Twitter (15 Mar 2012)

Dave — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 02:29:02 +0000

Whether you believe that life evolved over billions of years or God made everything, you can’t justify torturing an animal for a shampoo.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Twitter (15 Mar 2012)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Twitter (15 Nov 2011)

Dave — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 02:16:49 +0000

And remember, your critics want you to be as unhappy, unfulfilled and unimportant as they are. Let your happiness eat them up from inside.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Twitter (15 Nov 2011)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Twitter (20 Jan 2013)

Dave — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 04:30:19 +0000

Some of you are really smart. You know who you are.

Some of you are really thick. Unfortunately, you don’t know who you are.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Twitter (20 Jan 2013)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Twitter (23 Sep 2012)

Dave — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 03:11:05 +0000

If you are threatened or offended by people disagreeing, challenging or even ridiculing your faith, your faith can’t be that strong.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Twitter (23 Sep 2012)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Twitter (27 Nov 2012)

Dave — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 18:50:32 +0000

The only route to success is hard work. If you didn’t work hard I don’t think it counts as success.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Twitter (27 Nov 2012)
(Source)

Gervais, Ricky -- Twitter (5 Feb 2014)

Dave — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 17:15:12 +0000

Same sex marriage isn’t gay privilege, it’s equal rights. Privilege would be something like gay people not paying taxes. Like churches don’t.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Twitter (5 Feb 2014)
(Source)