David Tennant Jokes About Summoning Donald Trump 'Like Beetlejuice' in His Opening Monologue

David Tennant joked about summoning Donald Trump during his opening monologue at the BAFTA Awards. Meanwhile, Tennant marked his return to the hosting of the ceremony.

Written by Rashi Desai , Entertainment Journalist

Updated on Feb 17, 2025 | 12:54 AM IST | 27.1K

David Tennant via Getty Images

David Tennant hilariously drew the audience’s attention to himself by cracking a joke on Donald Trump at the BAFTA Awards 2025. The Doctor Who star marked his return to hosting the ceremony and went on to call out the U.S. President.

To initiate the ceremony, the host performed on the hit track I’m Gonna Be, and the celebrities, such as Colman Domingo, James McAvoy, and Anna Kendrick, joined him.

As he continued to entertain the guests with his wit and jokes, the actor took a dig at Sebastian Stan’s hair in The Apprentice, where the latter portrayed the role of President Trump.

Elaborating on the statements, Tennant claimed that The Brutalist was a “film about incredible architecture. In fact, it’s the boldest architecture in film this year, apart from Donald Trump’s hair in The Apprentice.”

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Adding further, the host for the ceremony said, “Donald Trump, he says he hasn’t seen ‘The Apprentice’ because it’s a 15 [referring to the U.K. film rating]. It’s not on Nickelodeon. Donald Trump. I’m worried. I’ve said his name three times. It’s like ‘Beetlejuice'—I've summoned him. And talking of villains..."

Meanwhile, the actor also made the audience laugh over the joke on Edward Berger’s Conclave. He said, “In ‘Conclave’ Stanley Tucci plays Cardinal Bellini, which makes a lot of sense, because if anyone knows how to whip up an excellent Bellini...”

Apart from the ceremony being kicked off on a high note, the movies, including The Apprentice, The Brutalist, and Conclave, have been nominated in several categories of the night.