April 13, 2011 | Celeb Watch

Comment about Ricky Gervais' health upsets many

A British newspaper columnist has been accused of crossing the line after commenting on comedian Ricky Gervais' recent weight loss.

In Sunday's Daily Star, Joe Mott wrote: “Not being bad, but if Ricky Gervais was homosexual, you’d be wondering if he was, you know, ill. His dramatic weight loss has left him looking like a dying man.”

People responded through blogs and twitter, calling Mott 'moron of the week.'

HIV charities demanded he apologise for this tasteless remarks.

“NAT is appalled that a national newspaper has printed this," said a spokesman for The National AIDS Trust. "Not only is this blatant homophobia but the insinuation that if he was gay then he’d have HIV, and that you can tell someone has HIV just by looking at them, is inaccurate, highly stigmatising and unacceptable."

Lisa Power, policy director for Terrence Higgins Trust, added: “This is a crass and outdated point of view. The implication that gay men with HIV all look like they’re at death’s door shows Joe Mott is seriously behind the times, which for a journalist is concerning."