Comedian Jack Whitehall hosted 2020’s virtual GQ Men of the Year Awards, during which he took aim at the government and celebrities during the pandemic.
The 32-year-old gave an opening monologue to an empty auditorium, beginning: “We are here at the stunning Coliseum Theatre. Ah, theatres, do you remember them? No, me neither.”
He quipped: “We were actually really lucky with this place as it was booked for the Bond premiere, so we got it at a bargain.”
He went on to comment on how 2020 has been “a year like no other”, joking that there would be no “Politician of the Year” award.
“A global pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, the UK government deciding it was time to stop feeding children… not to mention a squatter in the White House and finally the hope of a long-awaited vaccine,” he said.
“Put it this way… how long ago does Tiger King feel?”
Whitehall went on to praise the awards ceremony for celebrating people who have given us “just that glimmer of hope in the epic s***astrophe that is 2020”.
He later joked about playing the notorious all-star “Imagine” video that included singing celebrities such as Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan, only to run into technical difficulties.
Among this year’s awards recipients were Lewis Hamilton, John Boyega, Paul Mescal, Captain Sir Tom Moore and Piers Morgan.
Whitehall was recently the subject of complaints to the BBC over a “dwarf joke” that was broadcast in a repeat of his Live at the Apollo show from 2009.
