GettyMorgan Freeman shut down a chatterbox on the front row who was talking through his SAG Lifetime Achievement Awards acceptance speech.
Undoubtedly everyone else in the room was hanging off his every word, but one unidentified walking tuxedo failed to recognise the gravitas of the situation and got called out – very publicly – by the master.
You can watch the extremely cringe-worthy moment below:
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Morgan Freeman is a God of film – having played the deity in Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty – among other iconic roles in Shawshank Redemption, Driving Miss Daisy and The Bucket List.
Yet someone in the audience at the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards on Sunday night failed to listen to the gospel, according to Freeman and the 80-year-old rightly heckled them from stage.
GettyFreeman was just about to launch into his acceptance speech when he stopped and zeroed in on someone in the front row, who appeared to be talking and distracting him.
The legendary actor dragged it out by saying:
Hey, I’m talking to you. Yeah, hey… Okay, well you just stand out to me. That’s all.
GettyFreeman took no prisoners during his hilarious and charismatic speech, having donned a black baseball cap and swanky tux for the occasion.
He left the audience on their feet after delivering a short speech which touched on Hollywood’s gender inequality debate.
No one was safe. Not even the statue.
Buena Vista/TouchstoneHe remarked:
I wasn’t going to do this; I’m going to tell you what’s wrong with this statue. It works from the back, but from the front, it’s gender specific. Maybe I started something?
After getting a standing ovation, Freeman took the stage and said:
This is beyond honor, this is a place in history.
Rita Moreno presented Freeman with the award at the glittering ceremony – returning the favour after he gave her the award in 2014.
Columbia PicturesShe said the two have known each other for 50 years, having first worked together on the 1971 educational children’s series The Electric Company.
Moreno introduced Freeman, saying:
Morgan is way more than just an actor, narrator, producer, humanitarian. This man is a national treasure.
GettyThe film acting legend, who has a Screen Actors Guild Award, two Golden Globes, and an Oscar under his belt, as well as credits for humanitarianism and breaking down racial barriers, finally broke into the film industry at the age of 50.
After a lifetime of achievement in film as well as on the humanitarian stage, he said:
These moments in one’s life usually would call for an entire litany of thank you’s.
I can’t do that because I don’t know all of your names, so I won’t try.
Focus FeaturesFreeman is the 54th recipient of the SAG life achievement prize, awarded to an actor annually for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment.
Last year’s life achievement award honoree, Lily Tomlin, also made headlines with her speech, as well as comments she made backstage that likened the then-recently-inaugurated president’s political tactics to those of Nazis.
Other honorees have included Carol Burnett, Debbie Reynolds, Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.