Ricky Gervais Rants About Censored Ads: ”I am F-ing Sick and Tired of the Powers That Be”

Ricky Gervais is taking matters into his own hands. In a video shared to Instagram and X on November 2 captioned “Angry from Hampstead,” the comedian, 64, ranted about “the powers that be” censoring advertisements for his vodka brand, Dutch Barn.

“Sometimes there’s just nothing wrong with [the advertisements],” said the After Life star. One ad he created to run in London’s public transportation system, known as the Underground or the Tube, “had me having a drink and it just said, ‘One day you’ll be underground for good.’ That was it.” The advertisement was rejected, he claimed, “because it might make people think, ‘Oh cause life’s short, we should drink to excess.’”

Another ad the Office star claimed was rejected was one featuring Gervais “reading from my laptop from a government website about all the dangers of alcohol…They don’t like the truth either.”

The Derek star concludes his tirade by saying “F— them,” and inviting fans to sign up for his mailing list and buy the vodka directly from the brand’s website. In recent days, he has also shared mock-ups of advertisements with various phrases on them, including one proclaiming, “Welcome to London / Don’t forget your stab vest” with the caption, “They said no.”

Despite his impassioned speech, there’s a possibility the comedian’s rant is all part of a plan to rile fans into buying his vodka. UK publication Metro reached out to Transport for London for comment, and the organization issued a statement saying, “These adverts were never referred to TfL or their advertising partners for consideration. Alternative creatives for Dutch Barn have been accepted and are running on our network.”