“I love you for not being here,” Sykes said before presenting the award to the absent winner.

Ricky Gervais absent from Golden Globes, Wanda Sykes dedicates his win to trans community after past transphobic jokes

"I love you for not being here," Sykes said before presenting the award to the absent winner.

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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January 11, 2026 11:13 p.m. ET

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Wanda Sykes at 2026 Golden Globes; Ricky Gervais in 2020. Credit:

Rich Polk/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty; Vera Anderson/WireImage

- Presenter Wanda Sykes roasted every Best Stand-Up Comedy on Television nominee at the Golden Globes.

- Sykes promised to dedicate Ricky Gervais' victory to the trans community if he won.

- Gervais' past material was labeled as transphobic — particularly in his 2022 special *SuperNature*.

Wanda Sykes made sure that comedian Ricky Gervais — a comedian whose past material raised eyebrows and allegations of transphobia — shared his big 2026 Golden Globes night with a higher power and the transgender community.

The presenter took the stage at Sunday night's ceremony to present the award for Best Stand-Up Comedy on Television and preceded the announcement by roasting each of the nominees.

"Bill Maher, you give us so much. But, I would love a little less. Try less. Brett Goldstein, you're handsome. You've got that great supervillain voice. You're charming. You would've made a great Menendez brother," the 61-year-old *Upshaws* star said, before moving on to call Kevin Hart "the richest guy in this category," but joking that she knows "he wants it the most" out of all of them.

"Kumail [Nanjiani], I love that you prove that male comedians can be funny without being chubby. Kumail is jacked!" Sykes said, later turning toward fellow comic Sarah Silverman to quip, "I love that we are such close friends. We haven't talked in five years, but, we are so close. You know what I'm saying? Good luck, girl. I love you, I do."**

Ricky Gervais in 2025.

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

Sykes also set her sights on multi-time Golden Globes host Gervais, who was absent from the 2026 ceremony, but didn't escape the stand-up's bit.

"Ricky Gervais, I love you for not being here," Sykes said. "No, I love you, Ricky, because if you win, I get to accept the award on your behalf, and you're going to thank God and the trans community. Ooh, Ricky!"

Sykes' joke referenced Gervais' past onstage material in his *SuperNature* special, as well as various social media posts made by the English star.

Moments later, Sykes revealed that Gervais had indeed won the category,**

"Teyana, can I borrow your speech?" Sykes joked, after Best Supporting Actress winner Teyana Taylor thanked God for "every lesson, every test, and every blessing," earlier in the evening when she won for her work in* One Battle After Another*.

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Sykes then followed up on her prior promise, telling the audience that Gervais "would like to thank God and the trans community" for the honor. "Ricky Gervais could not be here, so we'll accept this on his behalf," she said, before walking off stage with her hands held out to the side as she stepped away.

** has reached out to a representative for Gervais for comment.

Gervais' 2022 *SuperNature* special was deemed to be transphobic by the GLAAD media organization, especially after he joked about a debate about public bathroom access for trans people.

"And now the old-fashioned ones say, ‘Oh, they want to use our toilets.’ ‘Why shouldn’t they use your toilets?’ ‘For ladies!’ ‘They are ladies – look at their pronouns! What about this person isn’t a lady?’ ‘Well, his penis.’ ‘Her penis, you f---ing bigot!’” Gervais said in the special, per CNN.

2026 Golden Globes presenter Wanda Sykes.

Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty

“We watched the Ricky Gervais ‘comedy’ special on Netflix so you don’t have to,” the watchdog group said in a statement at the time. “It’s full of graphic, dangerous, anti-trans rants masquerading as jokes," anti-gay rhetoric, and inaccurate statements on HIV.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Gervais also made transphobic comments on social media, including a December 2019 response to an X user calling Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling a trans-exclusionary radical feminist for her own transphobic rhetoric.

"We need to protect the rights of women. Not erode them because some men have found a new cunning way to dominate and demonise an entire sex," Gervais wrote, after calling out trans women for "winning at female sports and having their own toilets."

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