Ricky Gervais reveals how he would have opened the Oscars 2022 if he had hosted

Ricky Gervais has shared how he would have opened the Oscars 2022 had he been hosting – and the start of his imagined speech is very in keeping with his brand of controversial comedy.

Following the Academy Awards' 94th ceremony, which saw Will Smith slap Chris Rock for seemingly poking fun at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's alopecia, fans have been comparing past hosts, and wondering whether the same thing would have happened had somebody else engaged in similarly barbed banter. 

Given his willingness to roast celebrity guests at the Golden Globes, an event he has presented five times, Gervais's name came up a lot and, in response, he took to Twitter to share a short preview of how he'd have kicked off the evening.

"I'd start with 'Hello. I hope this show helps cheer up the ordinary people watching at home. If you're unemployed for example, take some comfort in the fact that even if you had a job, your salary probably wouldn't be as much as the goody bag all the actors have just been given'," the first tweet read.

"'I'm proud to announce that this is the most diverse and progressive Oscars ever. Looking out I see people from all walks of life,'" the second continued. "'Every demographic under the sun. Except poor people, obviously. Fuck them.'"

As for Rock's onstage remark, which saw him compare Jada – who revealed that she shaves her head due to hair loss brought on by alopecia in 2018 – to buzzcut-sporting fictional soldier G.I. Jane, Gervais retweeted a clip from The Office. In it, his character David Brent says: "Particularly for his wife. And she's got alopecia. So... not a happy homelife."

While appearing on The View back in January 2022, Gervais admitted that he would probably front the Oscars "for free" were he ever given the opportunity. He's under no illusion, though, that the likelihood of him being asked is slim.

"I might be allowed to host [the Oscars] if I did what I was told, but there’s the rub," the After Life star told Sunny Hostin. "The good thing about the Globes was [that] they said I could write my own jokes, say what I want, and not rehearse. That is just too good for a comedian to turn down, whereas I don't think the Oscars would ever allow me that freedom, and rightly so. I think they would be mad."

For more Oscars-related news, check out our roundup of the biggest talking points from the 94th Academy Awards and our winners list, too.