...as presenter Wanda Sykes makes a sly dig

Ricky Gervais won the 2025 Golden Globe for best performance in stand-up comedy last night – but did not fly to LA to collected it.

Instead it was picked up by presenter Wanda Skyes who joked that the atheist comic ‘would like to thank God and the trans community’.

The award was for Mortality, which was only released on Netflix on December 30, with her comments reflecting the condemnation of Gervais’s jokes targeting  trans people.

Gervais – who has hosted the Globes five times – tweeted this morning: ‘I fucking won. Again.’

He won the same category for  Armageddon in 2023, having also previously scooped two Globes for The Office and one for Extras. Ali Wong’s Single Lady won the category in 2024.

Gervais, 64, always said he wouldn’t be at the Beverly Hilton ceremony as it was too much effort. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s This Cultural Life, he explained: ‘It’s too far to go. It takes a lot to get me off the couch with my cat and my girlfriend watching Netflix. I love the work, I love writing, I love creating, I love stand-up, but all the other stuff I could really do without."

Mortality triumphed  over fellow nominees Bill Maher for Is Anyone Else Seeing This, Sarah Silverman for Postmortem, Kumail Nanjiani for Night Thoughts, Kevin Hart for Acting My Age and Brett Goldstein for The Second Best Night of Your Life.

Sykes joked all about the comics, telling Goldstein: ‘You are handsome. You’ve got that great Super Villain voice, and you are charming. You would’ve made a great Menendez brother’.

Of Nanjiani – who will be on the next series of Taskmaster – she said: 'Love that you prove that male comedians can be funny without being chubby.’

And of Hart, she said: ‘Kevin is the richest guy in this category, and yet I know he wants it the most. You’re a true American, Kevin.’

In other categories, The Studio won best musical or comedy TV series with star Seth Rogan taking best male actor in the same genre and Jean Smart taking the female equivalent for Hacks.

One Battle After Another won best musical or comedy film with its writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson scooping best best screenplay and best director and Teyana Taylor taking best supporting female actor.

Timothée Chalamet won best male actor in a musical or comedy film for Marty Supreme with Rose Byrne winning the female equivalent for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.

Good Hang with Amy Poehler won a new category for best podcast.

Published: 12 Jan 2026