Ross sues over Gervais joke
Sunday Times ‘took gag out of context’
Jonathan Ross is taking legal action against the Sunday Times for repeating a Ricky Gervais joke about him.The presenter has threatened to sue over a report which claimed he will be paid £100,000 to host the Bafta film awards in February.
His lawyers, Schillings, have written to the newspaper, reportedly to complain that the story was not true and that it used a quote from Gervais out of context.
The article, which said Ross would receive the fee on top of his controversial £18m, three-year BBC contract after taking over the Bafta job from Stephen Fry, said: ‘Ricky Gervais, the comedian, said of Ross, “He nicked Stephen Fry's job. At least the Americans knew who he was.”’
According to MediaGuardian, Schillings says the quote is unfair because it did not make it clear that Gervais, a friend of Ross, was joking.
The Sunday Times is believed to have written to Schillings refuting the claims, saying that the description of Gervais as a comedian meant his quote should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Published: 15 Nov 2007
