Jimmy Kimmel Takes On Bad Men In Hollywood (And Elsewhere) In Oscar Opener
Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue at the 90th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday night dove headfirst into poking fun at last year’s envelope fiasco and moved into commentary on the Me Too, Time’s Up, and Never Again movements.
“This year when you hear your name called, don’t get up right away. Just give us a minute. We don’t want another ’thing,’” Kimmel joked before elaborating on what really happened at last year’s ceremony.
“Last year, about a week before the show, the producers asked me if I wanted to do some comedy with the accountants. I said ‘No, I don’t want to do comedy with the accountants.’ So then the accountants went ahead and did comedy on their own,” Kimmel said.
#Oscars host @JimmyKimmel doesn't waste time addressing Harvey Weinstein and envelopegate in his opening monologue https://t.co/Il0tZXcT7C pic.twitter.com/KOijZxLLho
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 5, 2018
The late-night host joked that Oscar (the statue) is the “most beloved and respected man in Hollywood.”
“There’s a very good reason why. Look at him,” Kimmel said. “He keeps his hands where you can see them. Never says a rude word. And most importantly, he has no penis. He is literally a statue of limitations.” The host added a beat later that Oscar is “the kind of man we need more of in this town.”
Kimmel elaborated on Hollywood’s treatment of women by assailing Mel Gibson for the second year in a row and discussing the disparity between Mark Wahlberg’s and Michelle Williams’ reshoot fee for “All the Money in the World.”
“Here’s how clueless Hollywood is about women. We made a movie called ‘What Women Want’ and it starred Mel Gibson,” Kimmel said.
He went on to talk about how the industry can no longer let bad behavior slide.
“We need to set an example ... Things are changing for the better. This is a night for positivity,” the comedian said.
In that vein, Kimmel implored the winners of the night to keep their speeches brief but impassioned, using their platform to support causes like Me Too, Time’s Up, and Never Again.
“If you want to encourage people to join the amazing students at Parkland for their march on the 24th, do that,” he said, just before announcing that whomever gives the shortest speech of the night would receive a new Jet Ski.
The watercraft was presented by Helen Mirren (not included).
.@JimmyKimmel is offering an incentive for #Oscars winners to keep their speeches short https://t.co/gGUxhynOtY pic.twitter.com/qf81CS9puO
— Variety (@Variety) March 5, 2018
Jimmy Kimmel offers a free jet ski to the winner with tonight's shortest speech. Helen Mirren not included. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/RtQo31mo1L
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) March 5, 2018
Prior to Kimmel’s speech, there was a pan over the audience shot in black-and-white, which featured a plethora of stars. One notable bit featured a really uncomfortable shot of Salma Hayek with her “date” ― the fish man from “The Shape of Water.”
Last year, Kimmel started the award show talking about the divisiveness within the United States, bashing Trump, and explaining how to actually make America great again.
The lack of overt political commentary in this year’s monologue is surprising considering Kimmel’s stance on causes like health care, but he still couldn’t resist at least one solid dig at the vice president.
“We don’t make movies like ‘Call Me By Your Name’ to make money,” he said while discussing the film, centered around a relationship between two men over a summer in Italy. “We make them to upset Mike Pence.”
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Nicole Kidman
Viola Davis
Jennifer Lawrence
Taraji P. Henson
Lupita Nyong'o
Sandra Bullock
Emma Stone
Allison Williams
Salma Hayek
Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer
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Chadwick Boseman
Gina Rodriguez
Daniel Kaluuya
Saoirse Ronan
Mirai Nagasu
Mary J. Blige
Betty Gabriel
Margot Robbie
Adam Rippon
Eiza González
Zendaya
Whoopi Goldberg
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St. Vincent
Tom Holland
Mira Sorvino
Lindsey Vonn
Danai Gurira
Gal Gadot
Michael Strahan
Jordan Peele and Chelsea Peretti
Kelly Ripa
Laura Dern
Patrick Stewart and Sunny Ozell
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.