Rebel Wilson makes JK Rowling joke as she’s announced as 2022 Bafta host

Australian actor made dig while joking about her own weight loss

Rebel Wilson made a dig at JK Rowling as she was announced as the host of the 2022 Baftas.

On Friday (14 January), it was announced that the Australian actor and comedian would be hosting the celebration of British and international film, which takes place on Sunday 13 March at the Royal Albert Hall.

Commenting on the news, Wilson appeared to make a joke about JK Rowling’s controversial comments about transgender people and gender identity, while also alluding to her own recent weight loss.

“I’ve recently gone through a huge transformation so hopefully JK Rowling approves of me hosting the 2022 @BAFTA’s [sic],” she tweeted, adding a shrugging emoji.

In an official statement about hosting the Baftas, Wilson joked that she was excited for the awards to take place in a world where Covid-19 no longer existed as it had been inevitably “cancelled”.

“I don’t wanna put any pressure on this – I know I’m not going to be funny because I am no longer fat,” she said. “And besides, I’m not going to ‘sweat-it’ with nerves because I have a peculiar medical condition where I can’t sweat... or cause offence to people because of my adorable Australian accent.

“So basically I’ll just be there to hang out with Dame Judi Dench and together we’ll both try and bond with Daniel Craig. And yes, I do mean ‘bond’.  This show will be an anniversary celebration of some important British film franchises such as HARRY POTTER and not such as CATS. Everybody’s going to love it, I’m sure!”

Earlier this week, Harry Potter star Evanna Lynch denied claims that there was a “rift” between Rowling and the films’ cast due to the author’s political views.

Rowling was shown in the recent Harry Potter reunion, but did not appear in person alongside the cast and was not mentioned in promotional material.