Hooray for Hollywood? The 2011 Golden Globes and Ricky Gervais’ image repair strategies

British comedian Ricky Gervais created a media stir as host of the 2011 Golden Globes Awards ceremony by using what many celebrities in attendance and people in the television audience saw as harsh, mean-spirited jokes about the awards, guests, and nominees. Four days after the show, Gervais tried to respond to the backlash by appearing on Piers Morgan Tonight to defend his performance and to repair his image. Gervais employed a variety of image repair strategies: denial, evasion of responsibility, minimization, and mortification. He focused most attention on transcendence, inviting his audience to view the awards show and his performance as an artistic pursuit of truth and self-discovery. Ultimately, Gervais failed to adapt to his audience and failed to repair his image.

► I examine Ricky Gervais’ image restoration strategies after the 2011 Golden Globes.
► Gervais employed a variety of image repair strategies: denial, evasion of responsibility, minimization, and mortification.
► Gervais failed to adapt to his audience and failed to repair his image.