Is it possible to have too much Ricky Gervais? If you ask the stars in the audience at last year's Golden Globes -- particularly the ones he chose to laugh at -- the answer is probably "yes." For many others? No way!
Gervais, who has hosted the Globes for the past two years and will do so again on Sunday night, continued his chat from last week with TODAY's Matt Lauer on Wednesday, refusing to apologize for being offensive from time to time.
"What am I doing? I'm coming up with jokes and annoying people," he said. "I think offense is taken, not given. If you don't let yourself be offended, you're not offended. Some people are offended by quality; some people are offended by mixed marriage; some people are offended by homosexuality. What are we meant to do, stop all those things because someone's offended? No."
That said, while he's also considered a highly-intelligent comedian, Gervais says a person "should have no pride in being smart or being what you are. It's what you do with it."
He noted that he lived pretty lean until his late 30s, when his creation, "The Office," became a success first in Britain and then in the United States. "I was so proud of that, and then when the check came through it sort of ruined it a bit," he said. "And that sounds weird. I got over it.
"But," he added, "I've never done anything for money. I've never done anything for a million pounds that I wouldn't do for free. Bob Dylan said a man could consider himself a success if he wakes up in morning, goes to bed each night and in between did exactly what he wanted. That's success. That's what I've always done."
And for those stars worried about this year's Globes razzing? Bring a flak jacket. "I didn't think last year was offensive," said Gervais. "I'm going to do the same as I did last year. If you think it's offensive, I don't care. Because I don't think it is."
The "2012 Golden Globe Awards" airs on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 8:00 p.m. on NBC.
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