TfL responds to Ricky Gervais sharing controversial 'banned' 'stab vest' ad on London Underground

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

Transport for London (TfL) has responded to Ricky Gervais sharing a controversial ‘banned’ advert.

The comedian has been ranting on social media that his ads for Dutch Barn vodka were ‘rejected’ for the London Underground. Promoting his alcohol brand, these supposed posters depicted the 64-year-old alongside a series of well, risky taglines.

Over recent weeks, he’s shared his ‘billboard ideas’ that were apparently rejected for various reasons and Gervais has since taken to Instagram to say he was ‘f**king sick and tired of the powers that be banning my f**king billboard and adverts for Dutch Barn’.

He ranted about ‘cowardly f**king c***s about his ads supposedly being ‘rejected’.

And yet, in a bit of an arguably embarrassing twist, TfL has since debunked that his complaints had anything to do with the government body responsible for most of the capital’s transport.

Can’t use this one either. https://t.co/L1xFIWoN8b pic.twitter.com/q2wzRx8d6L

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) October 24, 2025

Ricky Gervais’ ad ‘ideas’

Some of the ads Gervais claims he came up with but were rejected include: “One day you’ll be underground for good,” “Dutch Barn, your tube driver’s favourite drink in the morning,” “Welcome to London, don’t forget your stab vest,” and “Enjoy life you’ll be dead soon.”

With the caption ‘I suppose this is out of the question’, Gervais shared a snap of another supposed idea that read: “Don’t jump, you’ll make everyone late for work, you selfish prick!”

And one user pointed out in the comments: “What was that series you did again about grief and impact on mental health?”

Others, however, responded to the comedian's posts to say 'never change' as they called them 'cowards' too.

Being ‘rejected’

Ranting about it all on Instagram, Gervais said: “One that was meant for the tube station just had me having a drink, and it just said, ‘one day you’ll be underground for good’. That was it. They went, ‘no, can’t have that’. Because it might make people think because life’s short, we should drink to excess. Who’s f**king thinking that?

“Oh my God, cowardly f**king c***s. Do you think it’s my attitude? But you can’t win, because you’re not allowed to say alcohol’s good for you or it does think or it makes you feel confident or it makes you feel attractive. Which is fine. I went the other way.”

He then added: “F**k me, honestly. So this is what we’re going to do. F**k ’em. I’m going to sell directly to you… Save donkeys, f**k censors, Dutch Barn.”

I suppose this is out of the question? pic.twitter.com/TxD9xCNBps

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) November 3, 2025

TfL’s response

The transport body has responded to this debacle as it told LADbible in a statement: “These adverts were never referred to TfL or their advertising partners for consideration. Alternative creatives for Dutch Barn have been accepted and are running on our network.”

LADbible has contacted Gervais’ reps and Dutch Barn for comment.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.