Piers Morgan blasted Joanna Lumley’s opening monologue at the BAFTAs, branding it a “train wreck” after she referenced the Ku Klux Klan.
The Absolutely Fabulous actress stunned the Royal Albert Hall into silence with a series of poor jokes at the top of Sunday night's ceremony.
She cracked a controversial joke about the Ku Klux Klan as she gave a nod to Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman.
“It’s an incredible film,” she said. “It’s already won many awards. If I’m honest I’m surprised it did so well at the Klannes film festival.”
Morgan voiced his disdain for the quip, tweeting: “Jeez, who wrote these jokes for Joanna Lumley? This is a train wreck. #BAFTAs2019.”
The Good Morning Britain presenter continued his tirade against the “torturous” ceremony as he appealed for “somebody to make us laugh”.
Unimpressed viewers called on Lumley to “sack her script writer” as her jokes continued to fall flat throughout the evening.
The 72-year-old also poked fun at the Oscars, which will go ahead this month without a host after Kevin Hart stepped down over the resurfacing of controversial tweets he posted years ago.
Lumley said: "Thank goodness Bafta has a host, though I suspect that has to do with the fact that I’m not on Twitter."
The Favourite cleaned up on Sunday night, picking up Outstanding British Film and Leading Actress for Olivia Colman. Netflix hit Roma was crowned Best Film, with Alfonso Cuaron taking Best Director.
