It wouldn’t be a BRIT Awards ceremony without some controversy from host Jack Whitehall. And tonight was no exception, as the comedian and MC delivered some eyebrow-raising gags.
Introducing Niall Horan, he listed Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne as the members of One Direction, before calling Niall 'the other one'. He also called Billie Eilish 'the only teenager in the world that makes Greta Thunberg look lazy', described Rolling Stone legend Ronnie Wood as 'the horny scarecrow of rock and roll' and described Jamie Laing as 'hung like a cashew nut.'
He also attacked the BRIT Awards themselves for a lack of gender equality. 'In the spirit of sustainability, the BRITs has been recycling the same excuses for why so few women were nominated.' And later, he looked back on Harry Styles' X Factor origins as occurring 'three of Simon Cowell's faces ago.'
But he was able to poke fun at himself at least: when one guest blocked his autocue, Jack begged them to move, saying 'I'm worthless without it!'
Jack is no stranger to making current – and maybe slightly risqué - jokes at the ceremony (which was this year sponsored by Strongbow and Red Stripe). During last year’s show, he stood outside a dilapidated tent, cleverly named ‘BYRT Festival’ after the documentary about the ill-fated Fyre Festival brought it back into the spotlight. And, after Piers Morgan criticised Little Mix for their nude shoot for their single Strip, he addressed the insult at the ceremony by saying: ‘Which is weird … voluptuous breasts and four chins – it must have been like looking in the mirror for him.’
The year before, he referenced the Oxford Circus scare, where Olly Murs tweeted for everyone to evacuate Selfridges after a false alarm. He then interviewed Cheryl and Liam Payne, saying ‘It’s probably past his bedtime but is the little fella watching from home? Shall we give him a wave?’ before then shouting out former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan, instead of their son Bear. (When he announced he was hosting this year’s ceremony, he did so in front of a Niall poster.)
He also poked fun at S Club’s Paul Cattermole trying to sell his Brit award by saying, ‘If you don’t win a Brit award you could buy one off eBay. There ain’t no auction like an S Club auction.’ Harsh, Jack. Very, very harsh.
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The Best Red Carpet Looks From The BRIT Awards 2020
1 of 25Lizzo in a custom Moschino gown designed to resemble a Hershey's chocolate bar wrapper
2 of 25Laura Whitmore in a newspaper-print mini dress
3 of 25Neneh Cherry in an all-black combo
4 of 25Fleur East in a graphic print white suit
5 of 25Grace Carter had her own interesting take on double denim
6 of 25Mabel wore a strapless sequin Moschino gown
7 of 25Billie Eilish in head-to-toe Burberry
8 of 25Ashley Roberts in a crop top and matching maxi skirt
9 of 25Celeste wore a vintage-looking outfit with beaded detail
10 of 25Anne-Marie wore a pink satin mini dress with oversized bow detail
11 of 25Ellie Goulding in a cut-out Christopher Kane dress
12 of 25Charli XCX in a black tulle gown by Fendi
13 of 25Singer-songwriter Freya Ridings in a blue polka dot dress
14 of 25Abbey Clancy wore a super-short black dress with train
15 of 25Harry Styles wearing Gucci
16 of 25Singer Joy Crooks honoured her Bangladeshi heritage in her own take on a traditional sari
17 of 25Mel C wore a simple black gown
18 of 25JLS returned to the red carpet in a variety of almost-matching looks
19 of 25Niall Horan in a velvet jacket
20 of 25Stormzy, who was one of the night's performers
21 of 25Amber Davies in a strapless silver gown
22 of 25Emily Atack in a black column dress
23 of 25Hailee Steinfeld
24 of 25Maya Jama wore an off-shoulder velvet gown
25 of 25