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Comedian Ricky Gervais has announced a substantial donation of almost £2.5 million to a range of animal welfare organisations, generated from the proceeds of his recent “Mortality” stand-up tour.
The 64-year-old entertainer has distributed £2.43 million among 22 charities, including prominent groups such as the PDSA, International Animal Rescue, Celia Hammond Animal Trust, and Animals Asia. These funds were raised from the additional profits garnered through platinum seating sales during his tour, which ran from 2024 to 2025.
Reflecting on the donation, Gervais quipped: “My mum always used to say ‘you can’t take it with you’, no I can’t mum. But I could’ve bought 30 speedboats and raced them round the Med with my mates, off our heads on weed and Bollinger. Anyway. Too late now.”
He further shared the news on X, stating: “To celebrate my Mortality Tour, my Netflix Special, my Golden Globes nomination and the spirit of Christmas, I am donating £2.43m to animals. These are the lovely charities I’ve chosen. merry Christmas critters.”
This latest philanthropic effort follows a similar gesture from his previous ‘Armageddon’ tour, which earned him a Golden Globe and saw £1.9 million donated to charity.
This brings the total charitable contributions from his four most recent specials to over £5 million.
Among the other beneficiaries are Libearty Sanctuary, Pangea, Wild Futures, All Dogs Matter, Dogs On The Streets, Paws2Rescue, Edinburgh Dog And Cat Home, Saving Strays, Chaldon Animal Sanctuary, Turgwe Hippo Trust, Safe Haven For Donkeys, and Catastrophes Cat Rescue.
Further donations will support Finding Shelter Animal Rescue, Flori’s Friends Animal Rescue, NYC Second Chance Rescue, Helping Rhinos, and Retreat Animal Rescue.
The distribution sees four charities each receiving £150,000, 17 organisations allocated £100,000 each, and the remaining £132,000 designated for Nowzad.
Gervais’s next Netflix special will, Mortality , premiere on 30 December (Getty)
Gervais’s Mortality Netflix special, which secured a Golden Globe nomination for best performance in stand-up comedy on television, is available globally on the streaming platform from Tuesday, December 30.
Beyond his stand-up success, Gervais is widely recognised for co-creating, co-writing, and starring in BBC sitcoms like The Office, Extras and Life’s Too Short with Stephen Merchant, as well as creating, writing, and starring in Channel 4’s Derek and Netflix’s After Life.
