Entertaintothe Office: Producer reflects on Ricky Gervaash Atalla’s jokes says that despite suggesting jokes about his disability, today he asked if he used his image fairly to gain space for writing

Ash Atallaproducer of the British version of The Officehe thought about a moment that marked his career in the early 2000s, and now he sees the situation with other eyes. During a participation in the program Desert Island Discsfrom the BBC Radio 4, Atalla commented on jokes that Ricky Gervais He made publicly about him, involving his physical disability.

Atalla He had a childhood polio, which made him reduced with reduced mobility and the constant use of a wheelchair. In an award ceremony in 2001, Gerval joked saying that Atalla It was the “intern” of the team. In another moment, he compared the producer to Stephen Hawking“Only without the genius.” The jokes were authorized and, in part, written by the Atalla. He wanted to ensure that the public understood that his presence on stage was not charity, but the result of hard work.

“At the time, I felt good about that,” he said. “I gave him that talk because I was afraid of seeming that I was there for pity. I wanted to make it clear that I conquered my space.” The reaction of the public was immediate: laughs, applause and, in a way, a comic double formed between the two.

Over time, however, Atalla It began to see the episode from another perspective.

Maybe I sold a part of myself at that moment. I put my disability highlighted because I knew it would make me different, and maybe it worked, but I don’t know if it was the right way.

Today, he recognizes the contradictions of using his own image as a tool for differentiation in entertainment. “I’m a producer, no one often remembers the producer. But because of these jokes, I gained visibility. And that has a price.”

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