Rebel Wilson is being hailed as a breath of fresh air at the notoriously stuffy Baftas ceremony after she presented the award for Best Director.
The Australian actor and comedian appeared on stage at the Royal Albert Hall, where she took aim at everything from the royal family to her own box-office bomb, Cats.
Her appearance drew one of the most enthusiastic reactions of the night, with stars including Marriage Story’s Adam Driver seen laughing at her self-deprecating humour.
Here are Wilson’s best jokes from her speech:
On the royal family
“It really is great to be here at the Royal Andrew – I mean the Royal Harry, no sorry... Royal Phil– ah, at this royal palace,” Wilson said. A canny producer then cut to Bafta president Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge looking rather awkward in the front row.
On the Baftas’ environmental initiative
“I was just told backstage that no one’s getting a massive gift bag tonight. No, what you’re all getting instead is a gifting wallet, which is funny, because that’s also the nickname for my vagina. So maybe it is me who will be getting best original score at the after party tonight.
“As Graham [Norton] was saying, tonight is all about sustainability, so I made this dress by sewing two old dresses together. The red is from that one time I didn’t win Miss Australia, and the black is from a funeral I just went to for the feature film, Cats.”
(Wilson was part of the all-star cast for Cats, which was panned by critics and received a disastrous reception at the global box office.)
On Cats
“Cats. Strangely not nominated for any awards. I’m not sure if everyone here is across the controversy but this year there has been a distinct lack of nominations for felines. Even in this best director cat-egory, no felines have been nominated. At least I get hold this Bafta for a while – and wow, what a great way to stop yourself getting coronavirus.”
(Wilson then held up the Bafta award to her face to mimic a protective mask.)
On the glaring (and widely criticised) lack of female nominees across all categories
“I look at the exceptional, daring talent nominated in this category and I don’t think I could do what they do,” Wilson said. “Honestly... I just don’t have the balls.”
See the full list of Bafta winners here.
