Hollywood Star’s Unexpected Rap Performance at Reading Festival Leaves Crowd Stunned

Ever tried to predict what’ll happen at a British music festival? Go ahead—bet your life on rain, overpriced chips, and someone losing a welly in the mud. But if you told me last week that I’d witness Rebel Wilson, the queen of pitch-perfect zing, rapping “Gangsta’s Paradise” with The Kooks on a foggy stage at Reading Festival—well, I’d have asked what you’d slipped into your cider . There’s something almost magical about how festivals conjure these headline-twisting moments, as if the event planner spins a roulette wheel and suddenly, Hollywood collides with indie rock in viral, chaotic harmony .

Let’s be honest, music festivals are already a breeding ground for the spectacularly unexpected—random encounters, wild fancy dress, and queues that test a human’s commitment to hydration . But an A-lister taking center stage for a moody Coolio cover? That’s a plot twist nobody put on their bingo card . Sometimes, all it takes is one unscripted duet and a shower of champagne to remind us that reality is just one surprise away from feeling like a lost scene in a quirky mockumentary .

Curious what went down between the music, mud, and Rebel Wilson’s perfectly-timed stage invasion? LEARN MORE

You see plenty of strange things at festivals but an A-list celebrity coming out to perform a rap song with an Indie band is not your usual combination.

Reading and Leeds festivals kicked off on this beautiful Bank Holiday weekend, with the four-day celebrations promising plenty of music, merriment and mud.

While one lad recently revealed the staggering cost of the festival nowadays, there were plenty in attendance on Friday night as The Kooks kicked things off, but you’d certainly be naive to think that they didn’t have anything up their sleeves in search of that viral moment.

After the Indie Rock band started playing a more melancholic version of the 1995 Coolio hit Gangsta’s Paradise, who should emerge but Hollywood celebrity Rebel Wilson.

The Pitch Perfect star is no stranger to singing and she’s certainly not shy, given that she’s regularly discussed the actor that she lost her virginity to at the age of 35, but fans were certainly surprised to see her give rapping a go.

The Aussie actor wasn’t just on stage because of her love for gangster rap, however, as it seems that she was filmed on the stage alongside the band for a new movie being released in the near future.

Rebel Wilson on stage at Reading Festival (Simone Joyner/Getty Images)

A quick look at the comedian’s IMDB page suggests that it could well be a film called ‘Girl Group’, but there are no other details at this moment.

The Kooks’ lead singer Luke Pritchard has confirmed ahead of the show that they would be bringing out a special guest, but surely nobody would have predicted the 45-year-old, and certainly not in that fashion.

Speaking about how the moment came together, Pritchard said, “We’re huge fans of Rebel. She got in touch saying she wanted to come and watch us. Immediately I invited her to join us on stage.He added, “We asked her which song she wanted to sing, expecting her to pick one of ours. She said the only song she knows all the words to is Gangsta’s Paradise… so Gangsta’s Paradise it was!”

After a singalong moment for ‘Seaside’, frontman Luke Pritchard introduced the Australian star. Hinting that the appearance may be part of an upcoming movie, Pritchard said, “We’d like to film a scene of a movie with you… so we’d like to welcome to the stage the incredible, the unbelievable, the hugely successful, famous, beautiful popstar, Tazzie Young… otherwise known as Rebel Wilson!”

But the best thing about Rebel is that she moves in her own way and that was certainly the case as she finished her frankly iconic performance by spraying the crowd with champagne.

Her performance earlier this afternoon has already attracted plenty of attention on X, with popular podcaster Jaackmate writing: “I promise you this isn’t a troll… and I have no idea why this just happened… but I’m watching The Kooks at Reading Festival and they’ve just brought out Rebel Wilson to sing Gangster’s [sic] Paradise….

“What the f*** has just happened?”

The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard (Mario Skraban/Getty Images)

Another wrote: “The Kooks bringing out rebel wilson to sing gangsta’s paradise was not on my bingo card for today.”

A third said: “Reading Festival. Watching The Kooks. Rebel Wilson comes on and they sing Gangsta’s Paradise. I don’t remember taking any drugs.”

So, in case you were gutted to miss this particular performance, it seems as if you’ll be able to catch it again when Wilson’s role in the upcoming film is confirmed. And if they cut it, then congrats to anyone who got to witness this crazy collaboration live.