Ricky Gervais hits out haters in his style amid Netflix special fury

Ricky Gervais is no stranger to controversies. In the latest, the British comedian has thanked his critics for making his Netflix special Armageddon a hit via "whining."

Taking to Twitter, the Office star wrote, "******* Hell. I think #Armageddon is going to be huge. Thanks to everyone who loved it and raved about it, and of course, everyone who hated it and whined about it. You all played your part."

The furor over his Netflix special started when the 62-year-old made offensive jokes, especially about terminally ill children.

A charity for disabled children, Scope strongly condemned the top artist's ableist slurs. 

"Disabled people already face negative attitudes, and the media has an enormous role to play in improving understanding," the group said.

Anger over the comedy set grew into a petition with thousands of signatures calling Netflix to take down the skit.

Meanwhile, Rickey remained unbothered by the petition, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "Good luck. That's what I say to them. Good luck. I'll even retweet it."

He continued, "They're not really offended. They just want to be heard. I'll explain, "No, you've mistaken the subject of the joke with the actual target."