Simu Liu is not afraid to throw some shade from time to time and he wasted no time in roasting some well-known celebrities and politicians at this year’s 2023 JUNO Awards.
In his opening monologue, Liu took no shots and covered everything about the former Toronto mayor John Tory’s ‘sex scandal’ to the rise of artificial intelligence.
Opening the show, which took place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Liu took a moment to welcome the city’s mayor, Amarjeet Sohi. However, Liu also took the opportunity to take aim at former Toronto mayors Rob Ford and John Tory.
“As a Torontonian myself, how can I put it? We have a bit of a problem when it comes to mayors,” Liu explained.
“Let me say how refreshing it is to see a mayor not crack in an underpass or engage in a very uncomfortable sex scandal. Toronto should take notice,” he joked.
Liu also paid tribute to Edmonton Oilers legend Connor McDavid, who also attended and sang his praises.
“Connor has one of the best single-season performances since Wayne Gretzky. Unbelievable. You’re the Lebron of hockey right now,” he said.
However, he urged McDavid not to follow in James’ footsteps.
“Just do me a favor. Promise me you won’t take your talents to South Beach. Don’t,” he joked, quoting James’ infamous speech when he left Cleveland Riders.
Nobody was safe from Liu’s ridicule, not even the machines – it’s true, the wonder star even shot artificial intelligence and software like ChatGPT.
“When the producers asked me to come back, I did what any responsible adult would do and left the writing until the last possible second. But that’s okay because we live in the age of artificial intelligence,” Liu said, explaining that he asked AI to write his opening monologue.
Everything started well, more or less a spelling mistake, however, the speech definitely took a turn.
“I’m here to just play a small role and move us forward in the evening,” Liu read. “I feel like small is a bit of an undersell.”
“Either way, we have a lot to celebrate tonight, from newcomers making their mark on the stage, to legends in the audience, like Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, poutine, Lake Superior and the tower CN,” Liu continued with some confusion. .
“Okay, most of them aren’t even people… See, that’s why I’m on stage and not the AI. Ok, well, thank you. Our jobs are sure, guys,” Liu joked.