Ricky Gervais is setting the record straight on his previous comments regarding The Office being canceled today. In a recent interview with the BBC, the actor celebrated the sitcom turning 20 years old by making a joke suggesting that the show wouldn’t last very long in today’s climate with some of his offensive humor. “I mean now it would be canceled. I’m looking forward to when they pick out one thing and try to cancel it,” he said in the interview. “Someone said they might try to cancel it one day, and I say, ‘Good, let them cancel it. I’ve been paid!’”
On Friday, Gervais set out to clarify that statement after multiple outlets reported that the comedian said his version of the office wouldn’t survive today. “Just to be clear, I did not say The Office would be cancelled if it were made today. That makes no sense,” he wrote on Twitter. “It’s still around. This is my actual quote. ‘Someone said they might try to cancel it one day, and I said, “Good, let them cancel it. I’ve been paid!” Clearly a joke.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Just to be clear, I did not say The Office would be cancelled if it were made today. That makes no sense. It’s still around. This is my actual quote. “Someone said they might try to cancel it one day, and I said, ‘Good, let them cancel it. I’ve been paid!’” Clearly a joke.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 9, 2021
Written, created, and directed by Gervais alongside Stephen Merchant, the U.K. series only ran for two seasons. It produced an incredibly successful U.S. version starring Steve Carrell at NBC. Gervais starred in the show as office manager David Brent, a leader with good intentions but not much intellectual wit, causing him to make various mistakes and offensive jokes. Though, Gervais never made a cameo in the American show. “In The Office, the audience are encouraged to identify not with the ignorant Brent, but with the characters Dawn [Lucy Davis] and Tim [Martin Freeman], and the victims of Brent’s ill-conceived comments are never racial or gendered caricatures, rather they are ordinary, intelligent people,” he told the BBC.
Most Viewed
-
Chappell Roan attends the 68th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images) -
TODAY — Pictured: Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 — (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC) -
(Photo by Phil McCarten/CBS via Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 01: Cher speaks onstage during the 68th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy) -
(Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy) -
(Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for American Cancer Society; Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; Photo by Joe Scarnici/WireImage) -
John Billings, Billings Artworks, has two cases of stunt Grammy statues that he will take with him for the upcoming awards show in his studio in Ridgway Colorado Jan. 12, 2019. Stunt statues are used for props in various situations in the show after after parties. (Photo by Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) -
PUNXSUTAWNEY, PENNSYLVANIA – FEBRUARY 2: Groundhog handler AJ Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil after he saw his shadow predicting 6 more weeks of winter during the 139th annual Groundhog Day festivities on Friday February 2, 2025 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Groundhog Day is a popular tradition in the United States and Canada. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his den. Early spring arrives if he does not see his shadow, causing Phil to remain above ground. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
