At this year’s BAFTAs ceremony, Rebel Wilson managed to call out not one, not two, but three sources of controversy in her speech, including a swipe at the royal family and the scandal surrounding Prince Andrew, the box office blunder that was Cats, and finally, the lack of female representation in the Best Director category she was presenting.
The Australian actress began her speech at the Royal Albert Hall by saying, “It is really great to be here at the royal Andrew, er er er, Royal Harry, erm… at this royal place,” alluding to the various scandals surrounding the Royal household in recent months – despite the fact that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were looking on their box mere metres away. Cameras honed in on the Royal’s frosty faces, before Rebel continued with her pointed speech.
Next, Rebel commented on the night’s focus on sustainability, with celebrities asked to make sustainable choices for the red carpet. Rebel explained that she had fashioned her own outfit by sewing two old dresses together to make a new one. “The red is from that one time I didn’t win Miss Australia and the black is from a recent funeral I went to for the feature film Cats,” she smirked before musing sarcastically on the fact the film wasn’t nominated for any awards.
The third and final swipe echoed the comments of fellow presenter, Graham Norton, who just moments earlier had joked over the lack of diversity among nominees calling 2019 “the year when white men finally broke through” and referring to the film Joker as “the story of a white man who makes himself even whiter”.
Presenting the Best Director category, Rebel read out the five – all male – nominees, before adding one final blow: “Looking at the exceptional talent and I don’t think I could do what they do. Honestly…. I just don’t have the balls.”
What’s an awards ceremony without a little controversy, hey?