‘Minari’ BAFTA Winner Yuh-Jung Youn Says Brits Are ‘Very Snobbish’ In Speech

Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari has been one of the front-running films this award season, and its presence at the BAFTAs was no exception.

In a socially distanced ceremony on Sunday night, Yuh-Jung Youn took home the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress in the immigrant family film. Her speech quickly went viral after the telecast after she called British people “very snobbish.”

“Thank you so much for this award,” she said. “Every award is meaningful but this one, especially being recognized by British people, known as very snobbish people and they approve me as a good actor, so I’m very, very privileged and happy. Thank you so much.”

Youn elaborated on her comments about the Brits in an interview backstage at the awards. “I’ve visited Britain a lot of times, and I had a fellowship in a Cambridge college ten years ago as an actor,” she revealed. “Somehow it felt very snobbish but not in a bad way. You have a long history and then you have your pride. As an Asian woman, I felt these people are very snobbish, that’s my honest feeling.”

After her wins at the BAFTA and the SAG awards earlier this month, Youn has become a fan-favorite to win in the same category at the Oscars.

“I don’t know anything about Oscars or BAFTAs,” Youn told Insider at the SAG awards. “In Korea, I’ve been in this business for such a long time. I’m very famous domestic-wise, not internationally. I don’t know what’s going on now, I don’t know what’s happening to me. So don’t ask me!”

Minari will be competing in six different categories, including Best Supporting Actress at the 2021 Academy Awards later this month.