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Ricky Gervais asked back as 2012 Golden Globes host

He's back! Well, almost. According to the New York Post's Page Six, Ricky Gervais told an audience during an interview at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in Scotland that he has been invited back to host the Golden Globes for a third consecutive year.Thing is, he isn't sure he'll sign on. "I shouldn't do it," he said. "It's a second encore. Don't do a second encore. I don't think I
Ricky Gervais
Ricky GervaisPaul Drinkwater / Reuters / Today

He's back! Well, almost. According to the New York Post's Page Six, Ricky Gervais told an audience during an interview at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in Scotland that he has been invited back to host the Golden Globes for a third consecutive year.

Thing is, he isn't sure he'll sign on. "I shouldn't do it," he said. "It's a second encore. Don't do a second encore. I don't think I should do it. What am I going back as?"

Probably not repentant, in any case: In January, Gervais aimed his jabs directly at the audience, singling out particular celebrities along the way for their partying ways (Charlie Sheen), drinking problems (Robert Downey, Jr.) or bombed films (Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp).

When the show was over, Hollywood Foreign Press Association President Philip Berk told The Hollywood Reporter that, “He definitely crossed the line. And some of the things were totally unacceptable. But that’s Ricky.”

"I didn't do anything wrong," he told TODAY's Matt Lauer in early August. "I mean, I crossed the line? Who drew the line? I didn’t draw the line. Where’s this line, right? It wasn’t that bad. If they saw my stand-up, their heads would explode."

He does give credit to NBC, which airs the Globes, for standing by him. And, he continues to defend his style of hosting -- which was at least appreciated by audiences at home: 17 million people tuned in to watch the Globes in January, making it the network's most-watched primetime entertainment telecast for viewers aged 18-49 since the previous Globes.

Gervais also said that he rejected an earlier invitation to host the Oscars.

"It’s a thankless task for a comedian," he said. "They don’t want to hear jokes. They want to hear if they won the most important award of their career."

The 2012 Golden Globes will air on Jan. 15.

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