Chelsea Handler skillfully hosted the 2024 Critics Choice Awards, offering a thought-provoking and entertaining evening. Renowned for her candor and wit, the comedian-actress, 48, got all the fashion sense and jokes for her hosting role. The event featured hilarious banter, moving speeches from the winners, and stunning red-carpet attires, as was to be expected. Thus, it goes without saying that a lot of strange, unusual, and surprising things also occurred, including a slick pickup line aimed at Cillian Murphy.
The Chelsea host masterfully created a frenzy of excitement and unexpected moments at Sunday’s awards ceremony. Amidst numerous taunts during her hosting stint (such as her savage verbal jab at her ex-boyfriend, Jo Koy), fans were left in stitches when they saw her upping her flirting game with the Oppenheimer star.
Chelsea Handler’s Flirting Fiasco with Cillian Murphy Has Fans in Stitches
It all unfolded on Sunday’s star-studded evening at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards as Chelsea Handler, known for her lightning-fast wit and sense of humor, took the stage. When she noticed the talented Cillian Murphy in the audience, the actress-comedian couldn’t resist having a chance to engage in a bit of light-hearted banter with him. She said (via X):
“Everyone’s well-catered tonight to their s*x appeal. But I see over there, you peaky little blinder…and I know you’re not old but you will be someday and I will be waiting.”
Off-screen, Murphy has always maintained a low-key persona despite being recognized for his strong roles and subtle charm. He has long been admired by people for his mysterious charm. So it is not surprising that his reaction to Chelsea’s flirtatious advances caught everyone off guard.
Let’s see some of the fans’ reactions via their tweets:
Yeah…he's never leaving the basement again 😂🥲 pic.twitter.com/hrFmwpI89N
— Kitty00 (@kittyatdawn) January 15, 2024
Barely contained eyeroll.
— chris – oh-oh, atomic (@saintcillian) January 15, 2024
Cillian’s face “”I rather be at the dentist right now”
— Emma Roberts (@islaverde) January 15, 2024
An expression that says "get me the f*ck out of here".
— Anne-thropoid. xo. 🧺🏆🏆💋 (@PPeaksy) January 15, 2024
He ain’t coming up off his wife, peaky blinders are all about loyalty
— Bruce (@muddbear2012) January 15, 2024
She’s so hilarious
— Kristen J. (@Greeney_Kay) January 15, 2024
The evening of the Critics Choice Awards 2024 also saw Handler spontaneously level a sharp verbal jab at ex-boyfriend Jo Koy, who had faced widespread criticism for hosting the Golden Globes recently.
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Chelsea Handler’s Thinly-veiled Quip Against Jo Koy
Chelsea Handler appeared to make light of her former boyfriend, Jo Koy’s recent 2024 Golden Globes hosting gig. The latter recently gave a monologue at the Golden Globes in which he chastised his writers and cracked a controversial joke about Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Handler referred to this joke when hosting the Critics Choice Awards in 2024 (via PEOPLE).
“Thank you for laughing at that — my writers wrote it.”
Also, Koy faced backlash after joking that there were “fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift” (via ET) at the awards show than in the NFL, to which the singer chose not to respond. Later that evening, the comedian told PEOPLE that he would “love to” try hosting again with more time to prepare.
A few days later, he referred to the joke as a “rookie move”, blaming his writers. The Los Angeles Times was informed by the comedian, who said:
“Those writers are dope, and that was not my intention at all. They were amazing, they had my back, and I need to make sure I fix that, and I will, I always will.”
We learned from PEOPLE that the host of this year’s Golden Globes, and Handler dated from August 2021 to July 2022. After reconnecting at the end of 2020, they made their relationship official the following year, in August. However, they broke up after a year of dating.
Suggested Article: “I rented this film by mistake”: Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow Role Was a Déjà Vu Considering the Al Pacino Starrer That Made Him Pursue Acting at First Place
Well, despite being one of Hollywood’s most renowned and beloved celebrities, Cillian Murphy remains down to earth and grounded in his introverted personality. He gradually built his reputation in the industry over the years and deserves the level of fame he’s finally getting.
All jokes aside, we hope to see the Peaky Blinders star in more projects in the future.
