Jimmy Kimmel may not have been the most exciting choice to host this yearâs Academy Awards, but he rose to the occasion Sunday night with an opening monologue that seized the political moment and really let President Donald Trump have it.
The host had a tough act to follow after Justin Timberlake opened the show with an energetic version of his Oscar-nominated song âCanât Stop the Feelingâ from Trolls. âOh good, I got a sitting ovation,â Kimmel said as the crowd took their seats.
âThis broadcast is being watched live by millions of Americans and around the world in more than 225 countries that now hate us,â Kimmel said. And while people have been asking him to say something that could bring together a âdividedâ country, he told the audience he just couldnât do it. âThereâs only one Braveheart in this room, and heâs not going to unite us either,â he added, as the camera cut to Mel Gibson. âYou look great,â he told the Hacksaw Ridge director. âI think the Scientology is working.â
Turning serious for a brief moment, Kimmel said. âThere are millions of people watching right now and if every one of you took a minute to reach out to one person you disagree with, someone you like and have a positive, considerate conversation, not as liberals or conservatives, but as Americans, if we would all do that, we would make America great again. We really could.â
With that in mind, Kimmel offered to âbury the hatchetâ with his nemesis Matt Damon. But then he proceeded to rip the actor for his box office flop The Great Wall. âSmooth move, dumbass,â he joked.
âMaybe this is not a popular thing to say, but I want to say thank you to President Trump,â Kimmel said. âRemember last year when it seemed like the Oscars were racist?â This year in movies, he added, âBlack people saved NASA and white people saved jazz. Thatâs what you call progress.â
âWe are very welcoming to outsiders here in Hollywood,â Kimmel said later, referring to Trumpâs travel ban. âWe donât discriminate against people based on what countries they come from. We discriminate against them based on their age and weight.â
But Kimmelâs piĂšce de rĂ©sistance came when he addressed Trumpâs Twitter attack on âone of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood,â Meryl Streep.
âWe are here tonight to honor great actors but weâre also here to honor the actors who seem great but actually really arenât,â Kimmel said. âAnd of all the great actors here in Hollywood, one in particular has stood the test of time for her many uninspiring and overrated performances.â As the camera cut to Streep, she tried to hide in her seat.
âMay I say, from her mediocre early work in The Deer Hunter and Out of Africa to her underwhelming performances in Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice, Meryl Streep has phoned it in for more than 50 films over the course of her lackluster career.â He called on the audience to give Streep a âtotally undeserved round of applause,â adding, âThe highly overrated Meryl Streep, everyone.â Complimenting her address, he asked, âIs that an Ivanka?â
Before ending his monologue, Kimmel took a moment to highlight the magic of the Academy Awards. âSome of you will get to come up here on this stage tonight and give a speech that the president of the United States will tweet about in all caps during his 5 a.m. bowel movement tomorrow,â he joked.
Now, all we have to do is wait.
Midway through the show, with still no response from the president, Kimmel tried sending some tweets his way. Within minutes, they racked up hundreds of thousands of likes and retweets.