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Prankster kicked out of BAFTAs after invading stage during Oppenheimer win

A YouTube prankster snuck onto the stage at the BAFTAs with the Oppenheimer cast – and no one noticed.

The stage invader at the BAFTAs.
The stage invader at the BAFTAs.

A YouTube prankster snuck onto the stage at the BAFTAs with the Oppenheimer cast – and no one noticed.

The social media daredevil casually stood behind Cillian Murphy and producer Emma Thomas as she accepted the award for best film.

As Thomas made her acceptance speech, alongside the film’s director Christopher Nolan, the intruder just stood and smiled along.

YouTube prankster Lizwani was kicked out of the BAFTAs after invading the stage during an Oppenheimer win. Picture: BAFTAs/BBC
YouTube prankster Lizwani was kicked out of the BAFTAs after invading the stage during an Oppenheimer win. Picture: BAFTAs/BBC

His game plan was clearly to blend in as if he were one of the filmmakers – and it worked.

Known as Lizwani, the gatecrasher was wearing a dark suit and black hat.

He was standing next to Murphy, who had earlier won best actor for his portrayal of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

After Thomas finished her speech and the crowd started to clap, he was seen tucking something under his arm before he joined in the applause.

Lizwani could be seen marching on stage after producer Emma Thomas encouraged her colleagues to join her. Picture: BAFTAs/BBC
Lizwani could be seen marching on stage after producer Emma Thomas encouraged her colleagues to join her. Picture: BAFTAs/BBC

He then calmly walked off stage with the cast before he was mobbed by security.

Michael J. Fox, who presented the award, and host David Tennant, were also on stage at the time and didn’t react to the gatecrasher.

It’s believed that Lizwani seized the opportunity after Emma invited the team who were sat in the audience to join her.

She opened her speech by saying: “Where are you? Come on, all of you!”

This isn’t his first rodeo, he’s got a history of infiltrating award ceremonies including the Fifa Ballon d’Or, Mobos and Brit Awards in 2022.

A spokesperson for Bafta said: “A social media prankster was removed by security last night after joining the winners of the final award on stage.

To be fair, the rest of the Oppenheimer gang seemed unfazed. Picture: BAFTAs/BBC
To be fair, the rest of the Oppenheimer gang seemed unfazed. Picture: BAFTAs/BBC

“We are taking this very seriously, and don’t wish to grant him any publicity by commenting further.”

Lizwani hasn’t shared anything about the stunt on his social media pages yet.

As well as landing the award for Leading Actor, Oppenhemier was also the evening’s biggest winner and scooped a total of seven awards.

This year’s star-studded event saw a total of 38 films up for awards hosted by David Tennant at the Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission

Originally published as Prankster kicked out of BAFTAs after invading stage during Oppenheimer win

Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/entertainment/awards/prankster-kicked-out-of-baftas-after-invading-stage-during-oppenheimer-win/news-story/fdf0e56d967db3177c38f4a31fdafe0a