Jimmy Kimmel Joke Sparks Fury

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Jimmy Kimmel annoyed some Oscars viewers early into the show during his fourth time as host on Sunday.

The Context

The comedian joked in his opening monologue that "movies are too long" but that had people at home rolling their eyes and slamming Kimmel's comments on social media.

What We Know

Kimmel commented that many of the nominated movies were "too long" and said as he watched Killers of the Flower Moon he had to get his "mail forwarded to the theater."

"You could drive to Oklahoma and solve the killings yourself," he added, referring to the Martin Scorsese film about the murders of Native Americans in Oklahoma.

jimmy kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel speaks onstage during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California. One of his jokes has annoyed people. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Views

People watching the ceremony on TV reacted to Kimmel's joke by sharing their opinions on X, formerly Twitter.

"The 'movies are too long' schtick just doesn't hold any water when the number one movie in the world is pushing 3 hrs and the front runner for best pic cracked near a billion at 3 hrs. Silly to get hung up on this, I know, but enough," wrote reporter, Brandon Streussnig on X, referring to the movie, Oppenheimer.

Another X user, @ZoeRoseBryant, added: "Enough of the 'movies are too long' jokes for the love of god #Oscars."

KaitlynRedWing wrote on X: "THE MOVIES ARE NOT TOO LONG! LET THIS JOKE DIE."

Another person, pelicinema, commented: "A 'movies are too long' joke oh brother."

What's Next?

Kimmel is hosting the Oscars for the fourth time and also roasted the Academy for snubbing Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie for Barbie.

They didn't get nominated for director and best actress for the film which was the highest grossing of 2023. But Ryan Gosling did get nominated for playing Ken in the film with many saying it was a moment that perfectly reflected the themes of Barbie.

He missed out on the award which went to Robert Downey Jr for his work in Oppenheimer.

Barbie was nominated in several other categories including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Costume Design and Best Original Song.

"What an achievement, to take a plastic doll nobody even liked anymore and now Barbie is a feminist icon," he said.

Then he thanked Gerwig, who "many believed deserved to be nominated for Best Director tonight."

As the star-studded crowd clapped for his remarks, Kimmel said: "I know you're clapping, but you're the ones who didn't vote for her. Don't act like you had nothing to do with this."

Newsweek is covering all the action of this year's Academy Awards, so be sure to follow the latest articles.

UPDATE: 03/10/2024, 10:30 P.M ET. This article was updated to include additional information.

About the writer

Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, newspapers and broadcast, specializing in entertainment, politics, LGBTQ+ and health reporting. Shannon has covered high profile celebrity trials along with industry analysis of all the big trends in media, pop culture and the entertainment business generally. Shannon stories have featured on the cover of the Newsweek magazine and has been published in publications such as, The Guardian, Monocle, The Independent, SBS, ABC, Metro and The Sun. You can get in touch with Shannon by email at s.power@newsweek.com and on X @shannonjpower. Languages: English, Greek, Spanish.



Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more