Jimmy Kimmel knocked women being shut out of the best director category and last year’s infamous Will Smith slap in a nearly politics-free monologue at the 95th annual Academy Awards.
“Some of the cynics are saying Jim Cameron isn’t here because he didn’t get a Best Director nomination. And while I find it very hard to believe about a man of such deep humility, he does have a point,” Kimmel as he kicked off the Oscars on Sunday.
“I mean, how does the Academy not nominate the guy who directed ‘Avatar?’ What do they think he is? A woman?”
The dig at Hollywood’s biggest awards show was a reference to women being shut out of the best director category ahead of this year’s ceremony.
“It was some year for diversity and inclusion: We have nominees from every corner of Dublin,” Kimmel quipped.
“The Banshees of Inisherin” is among the Best Picture nominees, while “The Quiet Girl” is the first Irish-language film to receive an Oscar nomination, earning a nod in the Best International Feature Film category.
Kimmel also threw a barb at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ handling of Smith following the performer’s jaw-dropping attack on comedian Chris Rock at last year’s Oscars ceremony.
After Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, the then-Best Actor nominee took to the stage and struck the comic. Minutes later, Smith was awarded the Oscar for his “King Richard” role.
At this year’s ceremony, Kimmel joked to the audience, “We want you to feel safe. And most importantly, we want me to feel safe. So we have policies in place.”
“If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for Best Actor and permitted to give a 19-minute long speech.”
“Seriously, the Academy has a crisis team in place. If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year — nothing. Sit there and do absolutely nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug.”
“There’ll be no nonsense tonight. We have no time for shenanigans,” Kimmel said.
While previous years found a critic in former President Trump — who’s slammed the Academy Awards as too “politically correct and boring” — this year’s monologue from Kimmel mostly veered away from politics except for a brief mention of President Biden and his son.
“This is my favorite pair right here: Steven Spielberg and Seth Rogen,” Kimmel said, after eyeing “Knocked Up” actor and the award-winning director sitting just seats apart, “the Joe and Hunter Biden of Hollywood.”