London Zoo has denied Ricky Gervais' bizarre request to have his body fed to the lions after his death, saying the comedian would be "too gristly" for the big cats.
The Afterlife star revealed his macabre idea in an interview with Conan O'Brien, saying he'd prefer to "give something back" rather than be cremated or buried.
"I thought it would be good to be just fed to the lions at London Zoo. That would be useful, isn't it?" Gervais said.
"We never give anything back. We take everything from this world. We just eat animals; anything that moves we eat. We destroy. Deforestation. We don't give anything back. Everything we do is for us. We're not even food for other things."
Unfortunately for the 59-year-old actor, the zoo's chief operating officer Kathryn England told The Sun she suspected Gervais would be "a bit gristly" for their lions.
"But we are struggling financially because of lockdown," England added, "so if anyone wants to 'give something back' we welcome donations that will help us keep our lions fed on a more suitable diet."
Gervais appeared delighted by the prospect of visitors to the zoo witnessing his part in the circle of life, telling O'Brien:
"I'd like the look on the tourists' faces when they just throw this dead, fat, naked 73-year-old - maybe, if I'm lucky - to the lions, and as it lands, some people go, 'Is that the bloke from The Office?' They go, 'What, Steve Carell?' 'No, not f**king Steve Carell. He's much fatter than Steve Carell.'"
