Sacha Baron Cohen Stuns Britannia Awards Audience with Controversial Murder Skit

Sacha Baron Cohen horrified the audience at the Britannia Awards Saturday night with a controversial skit in which he — very convincingly — pretended to murder an elderly woman on stage.

In the bit, presenter Salma Hayak came out on stage with an elderly woman in a wheelchair, whom she introduced as 87-year-old Grace Collington, the "oldest surviving actor to have worked with Charlie Chaplin in a silent movie," according to Deadline.

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When Cohen took the stage to accept an award from Collington, he promptly pushed her off the stage and she landed face down and remained still.

"Grace Collington is the oldest — sorry, was the oldest ... I dedicate my award to her," Cohen told the crowd, as Collington's "dead body" was carried out of the ballroom. "It's obviously a tragedy , but on the bright side what a great way to go. She'll probably make the Oscars In Memoriam section. ... Anyway, tonight is not about her. It's about me."

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Some viewers laughed uproariously, but others were so upset by the routine that host Rob Brydon had to interrupt the show to calm the crowd down

Other award recipients included George Clooney, Idris Elba, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sir Ben Kingsley and director Kathryn Bigelow.

Check out video of Cohen's prank below:

The Britannia Awards will be broadcast Sunday at 9/8c on BBC America.