On 8th December 2025, comedian Ricky Gervais was reported to have redirected almost £2.5 million from his “Mortality” stand‑up tour to a range of animal protection organisations, turning premium ticket income into financial support for sanctuaries and rescue groups. The extra profits came from platinum seating sales during the 2024–2025 tour and were then assigned to 22 animal charities.
The director and performer distributed £2.43 million among organisations including PDSA, International Animal Rescue, Celia Hammond Animal Trust, and Animals Asia, with the money specifically described as going “to animals”. Other beneficiaries listed in the announcement were Libearty Sanctuary, Pangea, Wild Futures, All Dogs Matter, Dogs On The Streets, Paws2Rescue, Edinburgh Dog And Cat Home, Saving Strays, Chaldon Animal Sanctuary, Turgwe Hippo Trust, Safe Haven For Donkeys, Catastrophes Cat Rescue, and Retreat Animal Rescue, all of which are involved in directly helping nonhuman animals in need.
Further allocations will support Finding Shelter Animal Rescue, Flori’s Friends Animal Rescue, NYC Second Chance Rescue, and Helping Rhinos, expanding the reach of the donation beyond the UK. According to the breakdown provided, four charities are set to receive £150,000 each, 17 organisations will receive £100,000 each, and the remaining £132,000 has been designated for Nowzad.
Ricky Gervais acknowledged the scale of the gift with characteristic irony, saying, “My mum always used to say ‘you can’t take it with you’, no, I can’t, mum. But I could’ve bought 30 speedboats and raced them round the Med with my mates, off our heads on weed and Bollinger. Anyway, too late now.” Sharing the news on X, he wrote, “To celebrate my Mortality Tour, my Netflix Special, my Golden Globes nomination and the spirit of Christmas, I am donating £2.43m to animals. These are the lovely charities I’ve chosen. Merry Christmas critters.”
The primate protection organisation Wild Futures, which runs the monkey sanctuary in Cornwall, posted the following on Instagram after receiving the news: “We cannot express how grateful we are for this incredible gift that is coming at the end of the hardest year our charity has had to face. Whilst our charity is facing uncertainty and changing times ahead, this donation comes at a critical time for us, and we cannot say thank you to Ricky enough.”
The Retreat Animal Rescue in Kent, another beneficiary, wrote the following: “The Retreat Animal Rescue will receive a donation of £100,000, which will be monumental to the animals and future of our sanctuary. With our running costs averaging a quarter of a million pounds every year and steadily increasing, this donation means the absolute world to us and will make 2026 a lot less stressful.”The donation follows a previous gesture linked to his ‘Armageddon’ tour, from which £1.9 million went to charity, and this latest move means the total charitable contributions from his four most recent specials now exceed £5 million.
