{"id":358322,"date":"2026-01-08T04:43:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/358322\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T04:43:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:43:16","slug":"ricky-gervais-brutally-fires-back-after-facing-complaints-for-mean-and-cruel-drinks-advert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/358322\/","title":{"rendered":"Ricky Gervais brutally fires back after facing complaints for ‘mean’ and ‘cruel’ drinks advert"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ricky Gervais has hit back at critics of a controversial advertising campaign promoting his Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka.<\/p>\n

The premium spirit is produced by Ellers Farm Distillery in North Yorkshire and has become known for its deliberately provocative marketing.<\/p>\n

In November 2025, Mr Gervais generated widespread attention after claiming several \u201chonest\u201d billboard concepts had been rejected by Transport for London.<\/p>\n

The comedian shared a number of slogans he said were turned down, including: \u201cWelcome to London. Don\u2019t forget your stab vest\u201d, \u201cDrugs this good are usually illegal\u201d, and \u201cOne day you\u2019ll be underground for good\u201d, all intended for use on London transport and tube stations.<\/p>\n

\"Ricky<\/p>\n

Ricky Gervais posted this advert to X on Wednesday<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

Ricky Gervais<\/p>\n

Another rejected line, which read \u201cYou\u2019ll make everyone late for work\u201d, was described by Mr Gervais as a deliberately bleak joke aimed at people who jump onto train tracks.<\/p>\n

Mr Gervais\u2019 official video adverts for the brand typically feature him speaking directly to camera, often discouraging viewers from buying the vodka altogether to avoid breaching advertising regulations.<\/p>\n

In one clip, he tells audiences it would be \u201ca waste of money\u201d and suggests they should instead \u201cbuy a book or a house plant\u201d.<\/p>\n

The actor frequently jokes about advertising codes that prevent alcohol brands from claiming their products make people more attractive or confident, instead describing vodka bluntly as \u201ca drug that gets you p*****d\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Ricky<\/p>\n

The comedian got into a heated exchange with a user on X over his ad <\/p>\n

| GETTY<\/p>\n

Despite the humour, the adverts also highlight that the vodka is made from British apples and produced at a carbon-neutral distillery.<\/p>\n

Among the campaigns that were approved and appeared on public transport across London were slogans such as: \u201cThe only time you\u2019ll see Ricky on a bus\u201d, and \u201cWelcome to London, hold onto your phone\u201d.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the vodka brand creator took to X to share one of his latest adverts, which appears to have been AI-generated, and not an image of a real billboard.<\/p>\n

The image, placed on the side of a gym, shows the comedian standing, holding a tape measure around his waist, with a bottle of vodka in the corner. <\/p>\n

The slogan reads: \u201cLose weight fast you fat pig.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s see how long this stays up,\u201d Mr Gervais captioned the image, followed by a laughing emoji.<\/p>\n

Many fans reacted positively, flooding the comments with praise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIncredible,\u201d one wrote, while another said: \u201cThe juxtaposition of the foreground and background creates a fascinating tension. Curious to see if it lasts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others described the advert as \u201cbrilliant\u201d, with one supporter adding: \u201cThanks for the motivation, Ricky!\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the post also attracted criticism, including one sarcastic comment which read: \u201cLose weight and become an alcoholic instead of a fat pig! Fun times.\u201d<\/p>\n

One critic, who appeared particularly offended by the advert, engaged in a lengthy exchange with Mr Gervais before later deleting their original comment.<\/p>\n

Responding to the criticism, the comedian asked what the issue was.<\/p>\n

\"Rickey<\/p>\n

One of Ricky Gervais’ ads, which was approved for the London underground<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

Rickey Gervais<\/p>\n

The user replied: \u201cThis kind of self-serving meanness and cruelty towards people struggling with body issues is not anything new or inventive. I don\u2019t understand why I should appreciate something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exchange escalated after the user added: \u201cYou\u2019re a f****** TV comedian, not some AIDS researcher.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Mr Gervais asked how the advert had personally affected them, the user claimed their oldest friend had taken his own life in 2004 after years of being subjected to fat-shaming abuse.<\/p>\n

In response, Mr Gervais shared screenshots of several tweets he had found from the users own account, captioned \u201cShame on you then\u201d.<\/p>\n

The posts included references to the user describing their own \u201cfat ass\u201d, making jokes about actor Steven Seagal\u2019s weight, and referring to a woman as a \u201cfat chick\u201d.<\/p>\n

The user accused Mr Gervais of hypocrisy, arguing that their comments were not displayed publicly as advertisements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat ad isn\u2019t on any walls,\u201d Mr Gervais replied. \u201cIt\u2019s just a tweet like yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the critic claimed the post existed purely to insult overweight people, Mr Gervais defended the campaign as a marketing strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a point to it,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIt raises awareness around the product by sparking conversation. It does that even better on the internet than on walls.\u201d<\/p>\n

He concluded: \u201cPeople talk about it so more people become aware of the product. That\u2019s how advertising and marketing usually work. Please say you understand now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ricky Gervais has hit back at critics of a controversial advertising campaign promoting his Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358323,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,830,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-358322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrity","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}