Ricky Gervais appears to react to Prophet Muhammad cartoon row: ‘It’s 2021 for f***’s sake’

Ricky Gervais has apparently chimed in on the row over a school teacher who showed his class a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.

Batley Grammy School in West Yorkshire became the subject of protests after children were shown the cartoon, with parents complaining that the image was taken from the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo.

The teacher in question has been suspended and has since apologised, while the school also offered an “unequivocal” apology.

The incident has prompted a row between protestors accusing the teacher of Islamophobia and those who claim the incident is a case of free speech and “censorship” in the classroom.

Gervais appeared to share his view on Friday (26 March), tweeting: “Blasphemy? F***ing Blasphemy? It's 2021 for f***s sake. What next? People being punished for insulting unicorns?”

The comedian has been a vocal campaigner for free speech for years, telling Fox News in an interview last year that people being offended was “the lesser of two evils”.

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Crowds of people, many wearing masks, were seen outside the gates of the school on Friday morning, with police also at the scene.

Demonstrators – about 30 men and teenagers – said they had gathered outside the school for a second day running “to show the country Islamophobia won’t be tolerated”, saying that the image is “so offensive” to them.

Former Conservative Party chairwoman Baroness Warsi said the debate has been hijacked by “extremists on both sides” to fuel a “culture war”.

She told the BBC she had spoken to pupils and parents over the last 24 hours and “that many pupils were left distressed because of what happened”.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, she said: “It's about safeguarding children and making sure the school look again, as should every school, to ensure that every pupil in their school is being taught in a way which creates a positive, unifying learning environment.”

Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, condemned the “censoring” of teaching, saying: “This is a country based on free speech and teachers should be able to tackle difficult and controversial issues in the classroom – and issues should not be censored.”