Something called the BAFTA Jaguar Britannia Awards was held over the weekend, where Sacha Baron Cohen was presented the Charlie Chaplin Britannia for Excellence in Comedy. But it wasn’t just a big night for extraneous modifiers, it was also the scene of a Cohen prank, that scamp!
An elderly, wheelchair-bound woman introduced as 87-year-old “Grace Cullington, Charlie Chaplin’s oldest surviving co-star,” who was said to have worked with Chaplin in City Lights when she was five years old, presented Cohen with a cane that she said was the cane Chaplin used during the film. Cohen then scamped around the stage in a Chaplin impersonation while the audience “ahhhed” with cuteness. Then Cohen knocked “Grace Cullington” and her wheelchair off stage, pretending to kill her. I hear Seth MacFarlane had something similar planned for the Oscars, but the producers cut it when the singing and dancing lasted 37 minutes.
“Grace Cullington is the oldest, no, sorry, was the oldest surviving [Chaplin co-star],” Baron Cohen said following the fall. “I dedicate my award to her. This is obviously a tragedy. She has upstaged me. But on the bright side, what a great way to go, giving an award to me. Thus, she’ll probably make the Oscars In Memoriam segment,” he deadpanned.
“I’d like to say a few words to her family: Do not try to sue me. If you decide to get the lawyers involved, I will take you down just like I did your granny. The cane that woman forced on me was clearly defective and I’ve got lots of witnesses. At least 400 in this room and at least 500 watching on TV. Anyway, tonight is not about her, it’s about me.” [PopWatch]
It goes without saying, but pretending to kill old ladies is my favorite kind of comedy. Also, is it just me, or did it look like George Clooney wasn’t happy to see someone stealing his prank thunder? You’ve made a powerful enemy this day, Sacha Cohen.
