Morgan Freeman criticizes 'gender specific' SAG Awards statue

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Actors honor their own at Screen Actors Guild Awards

80-year-old Morgan Freeman accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award from Rita Moreno at the 24th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Morgan Freeman accepted a lifetime achievement award Sunday from the Screen Actors Guild, and he took a moment during his acceptance speech to criticize the statue given to him.

Freeman, 80, said there was something wrong with his award at the end of his speech.

“I’m going to tell you what’s wrong with this statue. It works from the back; from the front, it’s gender-specific.”

After he made his remark he added, “Maybe I started something.”

The SAG Awards statue features a nude male posing with a mask. Freeman's lifetime achievement awards depicts just the mask.

Lucas Hedges, winner of the award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," examines the SAG Award statues. (AP)

Actress Rita Moreno, who presented Freeman with the honor, said Freeman was more than just an actor, narrator, producer and humanitarian. "This man is a national treasure," she said.

Freeman's acceptance speech was short. Donning a black baseball cap, Freeman said he wouldn't try to thank everyone he should because he couldn't remember all their names.

"This is beyond honor," Freeman said. "This is a place in history."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.