Kristen Wiig Opens Up About Being “Afraid to Fail and Afraid of Criticism” in Her Career: “I’m Sensitive”

Kristen Wiig received the Icon Award at the annual WIF Honors gala on Thursday night, where the comedy legend got honest about some fears holding her back in her career.

Wiig’s Palm Royale co-star Kaia Gerber was on hand to present the honor, as the Saturday Night Live alum admitted to the crowd inside the Beverly Hilton that she was really nervous to give her speech because “I’m myself. If I had a wig on and like a turtleneck, I could be like, ‘Kristen’s not here tonight,’ but I have to be myself instead.”

On a night celebrating female and nonbinary creatives in Hollywood, Wiig noted how she loves “being in a troupe and finding those female characters and their point of view, not in relation to like their husband or anything like that, but with each other, female friendships. With Bridesmaids or Barb and Star [Go to Vista Del Mar] and even Palm Royale, I just love stories about women” while also acknowledging two men in the room, Bridesmaids producer Judd Apatow and director Paul Feig, for changing her life.

She then pivoted and spoke about how “I still have things in my career that I really want to do, that I’m really scared to do. There have been things that maybe I haven’t done because I’m just going to be real vulnerable with you right now, that I’m afraid to fail and I’m afraid of criticism, and stepping out of that comfort zone is really something that I’m trying to work on. And I’m sensitive; I’m an HSP, if you know, you know — that’s Highly Sensitive Person. It’s a real thing, look it up.”

Wiig suggested that the room of women “make a collective pact with each other” to do the thing they they are scared of, adding, “let’s be nice to each other and make cool shit and let them say what they want.”

The WIF (formerly known as Women In Film) event also handed out a number of other awards, beginning with Jane Fonda presenting her Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award to Jamie Lee Curtis. The longtime activist wore a shirt that said “resist” as she spoke about relaunching the Committee for the First Amendment as freedom of expression is under attack. Turning to Curtis, Fonda celebrated her numerous philanthropic efforts and noted, “She leverages her career for causes that transcend career. This is what makes a fearless advocate.”

In accepting her award, Curtis first called for a round of applause for Nancy Pelosi — who announced her retirement earlier in the day — and spoke about how her mother Janet Leigh used her own platform for good and inspired her daughter’s life of charity. The star said, “I know that my mother be so very proud that her life and her work made an impact on mine, and that I carried it forward into my life as an adult woman in show-off business.”

The Crystal Award for Advocacy in Television was then presented to the team behind Netflix’s Forever, with Mara Brock Akil and Regina King sitting down for a brief conversation about the show. Akil told the room of the series’ importance, “Our children deserve spaces to grow, develop, make mistakes, gather, have a coming of age — our children in general are troubled by this, but our Black children are under siege and to be able to be children, number one; number two, be able to see themselves in each other, and to be able to enjoy the idea of being desired and not feared all the time. That’s what I want.”

The Crystal Award for Advocacy in Film was given to Hedda, as star Tessa Thompson joined producers Dede Gardner and Gabrielle Nadig; Thompson noted that the most important way to advocate for females in the industry is “we have to hire women,” as they did on the film. And the Max Mara Face of the Future Award was presented to Maude Apatow, who declared, “The best part about working in the industry so far has been the women that I’ve met along the way; that bond and commitment we have to each other is something we need now more than ever. I owe everything to the women in my life who’ve inspired me and uplifted me, whether personally, through their work or both. I will dedicate the rest of my life and career to advocating for women, the way so many of you have done for decades.”