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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Three men accused of performing Nazi salutes outside a Jewish museum told police it was a joke, with one man claiming he was copying Ricky Gervais’ comedy material.
Daniel Muston, 41, Ryan Peter Marshall, 31, and Anthony Raymond Mitchell, 32 were charged near the Sydney Jewish Museum in Australia last year. They have pleaded not guilty to behaving in an offensive manner in public and knowingly displaying Nazi symbols without an excuse.
Mitchell repeatedly referenced a performance by Gervais in an interview with New South Wales police. A clip of the comedian’s material was subsequently shown in court.
In the skit, Gervais performs a mock Nazi salute and pushes his hair down to imitate Hitler, saying: “ I do that quick so no one can take a picture of me doing that. Not a traditional subject for comedy, the old Holocaust.”
Displaying a Nazi symbol carries a maximum penalty of 12 months’ jail time and an $11,000 (£5,620) fine or both, as per a law introduced by New South Wales (NSW) Parliament in 2022.
Mitchell’s lawyer, Adrian Canceri, claimed the 32-year-old had been copying Gervais’ performance for “artistic purposes”, which is one of the exemptions under the NSW law.
The court viewed footage of the men walking past the Jewish museum on the day of the alleged offence, in which they can be seen raising their hands in what appear to be Nazi salutes.
Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson questioned the timing of the alleged offence, which took place days after hundreds of people were killed in Israel on 7 October.
She told the court: “It really is a matter of common knowledge what occurred in Israel days earlier. He might have said it was a joke but why that location, why that time?”
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In footage from body cameras worn by police at the time of Muston, Marshall and Mitchell’s arrest, Mitchell claimed the men were “all just joking around”.
Muston also told officers that people have become “too sensitive”.
Police prosecutor David Lanton said in court there was a difference between Gervais performing the salute on stage at a comedy show and others performing the action, even as a joke, in public.
To which, Atkinson responded: “I’m not making a decision about Ricky Gervais.”
The Independent has contacted Gervais’ representatives for comment.
It comes after the comedian faced criticism for a controversial joke about terminally ill children and the Make-a-Wish foundation in his Netflix special last year.
“I’ve been doing video messages recently for terminally ill children – and only if they request it, obviously,” Gervais says in Armageddon.
“I didn’t burst into hospitals and go, ‘Wake up baldy!’ Watch me twerking on TikTok.’”
Gervais then claimed that he always starts his videos the same way, saying: “I go, ‘Why didn’t you wish to get better? What, are you f***ing r*****d as well?’”
Immediately after this remark, Gervais states that he has never actually said this to any Make-a-Wish child.
“These are all jokes, OK?” he says. “I don’t even use that word in real life, the R-word.”
