Aidy Bryant’s Independent Spirit Awards Monologue Takes On AI, The Strike & Pains Of Hosting

Anthony D'Alessandro and Matt Grobar
·4 min read
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Saturday Night Live alum Aidy Bryant made her debut as host of the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday afternoon in a speech that dinged the recent strikes, AI, the indie world and past boyfriends obsessed with it.

As part of her opening remarks, Bryant confessed that she’d try and do some “classic roasting” in the room, and that resulted in her calling stars like Greta Lee and Natalie Portman a “stupid b*tch”.

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“From May December, Natalie Portman is here. Hey, Natalie, you stupid b*tch. … I know, I think I’m supposed to try to make it clever.”

Going around the room…

“Sterling K. Brown — more like Stupid K. B*tch.”

“Greta Lee is here. Greta ,you are a slob and a slut and a stupid b*tch.”

Getting self-deprecating, Bryant admitted, “I’m sorry, I’m not a good roaster. Just know, though, if you’re feeling scared, I only did that to people I know, I’ve met, or I want to have sex with.”

At the top of the monologue, Bryant beamed, “Welcome to the Independent Spirt Awards, also known as the bisexual Oscars!”

In mentioning that it’s the 39th annual Indie Spirits, Bryant exclaimed, “Hope you froze your eggs, Spirit Awards.”

“I know about you filmmakers because my high school boyfriend talked about you while we dry-humped.”

“I was told what a tracking shot was by the boys who penetrated me!”

More quips about the indie world:

“This is the only place in America where $29 million is like no money!”

“I prefer this awards show wasn’t so fancy — this is one of the top nicest tents I’ve ever been in.”

Nominated films were, natch, fair game for getting picked on.

“In Passages, a woman seduces and sleeps with a gay man, which really speaks to me, as a woman who did theater in high school.”

“Past Lives – in it, a NYU student reunites with a childhood love after years without speaking, which is weird because every NYU student I’ve ever met has never stopped speaking, especially the words, ‘I went to NYU.’ The film was so good that I tried to reconnect with my childhood boyfriend, and can you believe it? He was still a priest.”

“Anatomy of a Fall and Zone of Interest both star Sandra Hüller, and in one of the two, she maybe kills her husband. But not the Nazi husband? Just asking.”

“I also want to take a moment to acknowledge one of the biggest stars of awards season, Messi the dog from Anatomy of a Fall. His dog trainer is also my acting coach.”

“Jury Duty – a show that so indie, the star didn’t even know it was happening.”

Bryant tapped her collaborators, Shrill scribe Sudi Green and sketch writer Fran Gillespie.

The recent Hollywood strikes, per reports, was always going to get a reference today.

“Speaking of the strike, is everyone getting coffee with the people you ran into on the picket line?” she said. “Because you have to.”

Keeping topical, Bryant turned her attention toward AI.

“Filmmakers in the eyes of executives: ‘Worthless little content pigs who should be replaced by computers,’ ” see said. “Tonight, if your acceptance speech goes long, you will be automatically 3D-scanned and placed in the background of The Mandalorian.”

Culminating in getting the Spirits tent worked into a spirit, Bryant summed, “Today, we celebrate the resilience and ingenuity of your work, and it’s so hard to get something made, not to mention, this town can be kind of harsh. That’s Hollywood, baby, but not here. In this tent, we say, ‘That’s indie, baby,’ and if you’re an actress and are wearing your own shoes in the movie, that’s indie, baby.”

“When the solidarity from the WGA, SAG, Teamsters and IATSE shows us the collective power of our labor, that’s indie, baby.”

Bryant comes from a line of SNL alums who’ve hosted the Spirits: Andy Samberg, John Mulaney (who was a writer on the show) and Aubery Plaza (who cut her teeth as an SNL intern).

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