This image released by NBC shows host Ricky Gervais speaking at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020. Picture: AP

Ricky Gervais pledged to “go out with a bang” as he threw shade the star-studded audience at the Golden Globe Awards, which he hosted for a fifth time on Sunday.

The 58-year-old comic fronted the ceremony for a fifth time on Sunday and insisted he had “never cared” about the event so wasn’t too worried about offending people.

He said: “You’ll be pleased to know this is the last time I’m hosting these awards, so I don’t care anymore. I’m joking. I never did. I’m joking, I never did. NBC clearly don’t care either — fifth time. I mean, Kevin Hart was fired from the Oscars for some offensive tweets — hello?

“Lucky for me, the Hollywood Foreign Press can barely speak English and they’ve no idea what Twitter is, so I got offered this gig by fax. Let’s go out with a bang, let’s have a laugh at your expense. Remember, they’re just jokes. We’re all gonna die soon and there’s no sequel, so remember that.”

The “After Life” star went on to poke fun at the college admissions scandal, which saw actress Felicity Huffman jailed.