Aubrey Plaza rips on Oscars and Netflix in hilarious Spirit Awards monologue

Carly Mallenbaum
Updated
The host of the Spirit Awards, Aubrey Plaza, used part of her opening monologue to make fun of the Oscars.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The Spirit Awards don't get the same attention as the Oscars, but they do have something this year that the Sunday show doesn't: A hilarious host.

Aubrey Plaza served as MC for the breezy independent film celebration, which takes place on a beach a day before the Academy Awards. She had plenty of jokes, only some of which we can share on a family-friendly website.

"The (IFC) network's first choice (to host) was 'no one,' but they were already booked for tomorrow," Plaza said in her opening monologue, ripping on the Oscars. The not-so-subtle digs continued.

"60 percent of our director nominees are women," she said in a year when the Oscars don't have a single female director nominee. "Don’t get too excited: In this case, 60 percent just means three women, but calling it 60 percent makes it sound way scarier to your uncles, and that’s fun for me."

Plaza then tossed to filmmaker John Waters, who was up in the booth "to direct the show," she said.

Waters pushed some buttons and made a joke aimed at embattled director Bryan Singer, who's been accused of sexual misconduct and absent from award season while his movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" earns trophies:

"It’s television. Like 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' (this Spirit Awards) doesn’t really have a director. It directs itself."

Plaza also used her time onstage to make fun of streaming platform Netflix, which distributed Oscar- and Spirit Award-nominated film "Roma."

She advocated for seeing movies in theaters, because putting them on Netflix makes sure they "will be seen by millions of people as they scroll past it to find the show about folding socks into tiny squares," she said. " 'Tidying Up (With Marie Kondo)' or 'Roma'? Either way, I’m going to watch someone clean up a bunch of (crap), so who cares?"

Another part of Plaza's monologue that got plenty of laughs was about Spike Lee's film "BlacKkKlansman," because its only actor nominated is a Caucasian star.

" 'BlacKkKlansman' explores the struggle of a black police officer to find his role in the fight against white supremacy. So congratulations to the sole nominee from that film today, Adam Driver. We are so proud of you. You were the best one. I’m sure they’ll do the white thing."

More: Glenn Close brought her adorable dog Pip onto the red carpet at the Spirit Awards

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aubrey Plaza rips on Oscars and Netflix in hilarious Spirit Awards monologue