Ricky Gervais Went Missing for an Hour Last Night...

After Ricky Gervais’ insult-filled Golden Globes monologue last night, the host left the stage—for nearly an hour. Twitter lit up with speculation that he’d been fired—or worse. “Hosts always get trimmed in the second half of awards shows,” wrote one. “Ricky Gervais hasn't been killed. Or has he?” Of course, Gervais eventually emerged—but he looked, as Piers Morgan tweeted, “haunted,” and his jokes were more subdued, the Guardian reports.

Morgan’s first question when he interviews Gervais Thursday, he promised, would be, “What the hell did they do to you backstage?” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Before his mysterious absence, Gervais hadn’t pulled any punches, and many stars seemed uncomfortable with his jokes at their expense. One of those was Robert Downey Jr., notes the Los Angeles Times. His opening remark upon arriving onstage to present: "Aside from the fact that it's been hugely mean-spirited with mildly sinister undertones, I'd say the show's going pretty good so far, wouldn't you?" Click for more from Gervais’s monologue.