People Are Defending Aidy Bryant’s Hosting Gig At The Spirit Awards After A Viral Tweet Sparked A Whole Load Of Discourse

On Sunday, comedian Aidy Bryant made her award show hosting debut at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Aidy standing on stage with a microphone, wearing a sweater with a graphic print showing off Charles Melton
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And it’s since largely been agreed amongst fans that Aidy — who is best known for her former work on Saturday Night Live — did an incredible job, especially in light of other recent controversial hosting gigs.

Aidy Bryant onstage next to an Emmy statue
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One of the most popular segments from Aidy’s monologue featured her jokingly attempting to “roast” a bunch of the celebrities in attendance at the award show — except her “roasts” weren’t actual roasts.

Aidy on stage wearing a long-sleeved top and skirt, smiling at the audience
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She said in a gleeful tone, “Since this is my first time hosting an award show, I did wanna try some of the classics. You know, like roasting some of the celebrities in the crowd... Uh oh, you getting scared?”

Aidy Bryant on stage at the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards, speaking into a microphone with projected graphics behind her
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After pointing around the room and asking, “Who’s first? Who’s first?” Aidy began, “Let’s see, from May December, Natalie Portman is here!”

A closeup of Natalie Portman smiling
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The crowd loudly applauded Natalie’s introduction — only for Aidy to immediately “roast” her by saying, “Hey Natalie, you stupid bitch!”

Closeup of Natalie Portman laughing
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Natalie — as well as the entire audience — burst out laughing, while Aidy followed up with: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I think I’m supposed to try and make it clever.”

Closeup of Natalie Portman laughing
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But the comedian went on to do the same hilarious bit over and over, drawing attention to the likes of Sterling K. Brown, Charles Melton, and Greta Lee.

Closeup of Aidy Bryant at the Film Independent Awards
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“Oh wow, Sterling K. Brown — more like Stupid K. Bitch,” Aidy joked, while Sterling clapped and laughed out loud. Aidy continued, “And Charles Melton, everyone wants to have sex with you, you stupid bitch!” with Charles bursting into fits of laughter, too.

Sterling applauding
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And Aidy finally added, “Let’s see, Greta Lee is here! Greta from Past Lives! Greta, you are a slob and a slut and a stupid bitch.” Greta was filmed mouthing, “It’s true” as she reacted to the joke.

Closeup of Greta Lee
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Aidy then added, “I’m sorry, I’m not a good roaster,” before going on to continue her monologue.

Well, among all the discourse around Aidy’s “roasts,” a now-viral tweet from Variety has sparked a big divide.

Closeup of Aidy Bryant
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On Sunday, Variety tweeted: “‘Hey, Natalie [Portman] you stupid b*tch!’ Aidy Bryant jokingly attempted (and failed) to roast celebrities like Portman, Greta Lee and Charles Melton at this year's #SpiritAwards during her first gig as an awards show host.”

Natalie Portman on the red carpet in a dress with roses on the front
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic

The wording of Variety’s tweet — which sparked some negative responses toward Aidy’s jokes — left fans confused. Some people took issue with the lack of context in the post and accused the outlet of making Aidy’s comment seem “so much worse than it was.”

Aidy Bryant hosting the Film Independent Spirit Awards
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This prompted users to begin sharing Natalie’s actual reaction to the joke in defense of Aidy. “Please, it went well,” one person said. “Natalie and everyone was literally laughing... all her jokes did well what is this article ?” another wrote.

Natalie laughing with a joyful crowd around her
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“The way she actually says it and the way this article acts like she says it is incredibly different,” someone else said. “Really weird way to describe a very funny bit that the audience seemed to love,” one more user added.

Natalie posing on the red carpet wearing a floral print shirt
Jon Kopaloff / WireImage

However, other users defended Variety, arguing that fans had simply misinterpreted its tweet.

Aidy in a patterned outfit sitting on stage speaking into a microphone
Roy Rochlin / Getty Images for Tribeca Festival

“Why is everyone mad about this? I think you’re all misunderstanding this tweet?? She did try to roast celebrities, and she DID fail, that was literally the joke,” one person wrote.

Aidy Bryant onstage
Kevin Winter / Getty Images

“I think everyone is misreading this tweet - it’s reporting that Aidy attempted and failed at roasting, which was Aidy’s whole bit (that she was failing at roasting), not that the bit failed,” another user said.

Closeup of Aidy Bryant
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“Why is everyone freaking out about this? The ‘(and failed)’ is clearly describing Aidy’s bit (being too nice and quirky to properly roast any celebs) not her execution of said bit (which clearly went very well),” someone else added.

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