HFP: Gervais won't return to Globes

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association Tuesday quickly denied a claim by caustic comedian Ricky Gervais that the group has invited him to host the Golden Globe Awards for a third year, despite his having "humiliated the organization" with a barrage of pointed and personal barbs on the Jan. 16 telecast.

"I did exactly what I went to do. Improve on last year's and have a laugh," Gervais, 49, said in a "diary" he wrote for the current print edition of the British weekly Heat. The magazine delays posting its print articles online, and the two-page spread appears only as a scan on Gervais' own website.

"The ratings went up again, and the organisers asked me to consider a third year," Gervais wrote. "I don't think I should. I don't know what I could do better. I certainly couldn't get more press for them, that's for sure. You know me. Two seasons is enough," he said, alluding to the two seasons each he did of his BBC series "The Office" and his BBC / HBO series "Extras."

Hours afterward, however, HFPA president Phillip Berk said in a statement to Newsday, "There is no truth to this rumor. We have not asked him to come back. Nice try, Ricky."

The Globes, broadcast on NBC, drew nearly 17 million viewers this year, slightly more than last year's audience, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Heat had claimed last month that an unnamed HFPA source told the magazine the group had "loved" the controversial telecast.

"It was a lot of fun and obviously has a lot of people talking. When you hire a comedian like Ricky Gervais, one expects in-your-face, sometimes outrageous material. Certainly, in this case, he pushed the envelope and occasionally went too far. The HFPA would never condone some of his personal remarks. Overall, however, the show was among the best we've ever had and we were pleased."

This contrasts with an anonymous HFPA member telling AOL's PopEater.com a day after the telecast that "Ricky will not be invited back to host the show next year, for sure. For sure any movie he makes he can forget about [it] getting nominated. He humiliated the organization last night and went too far with several celebrities whose representatives have already called to complain."