Ricky Gervais says revisions to Roald Dahl's books are meant to 'spare those who are fragile and easily offended'

The British comedian took to Twitter on Friday to share his thoughts on changes made to Roald Dahl's children's books.

• Comedian Ricky Gervais weighed in on the ongoing Roald Dahl censorship debate Friday.
• In a tweet, Gervais wrote that he wondered if his jokes would be censored after he died. 
• The Telegraph reported that Dahl's publisher removed words like "fat" and "crazy" from Dahl's books.

On Friday, British comedian Ricky Gervais weighed in on the debate surrounding edits made to late author Roald Dahl's children's books.

Gervais took to Twitter to "ponder" whether or not his work would be changed after he died to "spare" certain people. 

—Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) February 24, 2023

Gervais shared a black-and-white photo of himself with a serious expression to accompany his tweet. His caption read, "This is me pondering whether they'll change any of the words I've used in my work after I'm dead, to spare those who are fragile and easily offended."

"Words like 'fat' and 'ugly'. And 'cunt' and 'fuck'. And 'fat, ugly, greedy, pathetic little stupid fucking cunt'. Stuff like that," he continued. 

Gervais followed his original tweet with another that same day. The comedian shared a selfie from an upward angle, where his stomach and face could be seen. "I've changed my mind. I think we should ban the words 'fat' and 'ugly'. No reason," Gervais wrote. 

—Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) February 24, 2023

Gervais' comments come after The Telegraph reported on February 17 that publishing house Puffin edited Dahl's children's books to remove words like "fat," "crazy," and "ugly." According to the outlet, hundreds of changes were made to Dahl's work. 

"This book was written many years ago, and so we regularly review the language to ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today," reads a statement on the copyright page of the latest editions of Dahl's books, per The Telegraph.

The Roald Dahl Story Company worked together with Puffin to make the changes to his books, Insider reported. The organization manages the copyright of Dahl's work and told Insider that "the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit" of Dahl's writing had not been lost. 

"Any changes made have been small and carefully considered," a representative for the Roald Dahl Story Company told Insider in a statement.

On Friday, Puffin UK announced that the original version of Roald Dahl's work would be released in "The Roald Dahl Classic Collection." The Telegraph reported that the publishing house "listened to the debate" and recognized "the importance of keeping Dahl's classic texts in print."

The Roald Dahl Story Company told the UK-based outlet they were "deeply moved" by the strong reaction from the public.