TV/Film

Jimmy Kimmel knew ahead of his fourth time hosting the Oscars that he wouldn’t please everyone with his jokes on Sunday (March 10), but there is some criticism he wasn’t willing to take sitting down. In fact, he decided during the show to clap back at one critic in particular: Donald Trump.

The twice-impeached president had slammed the comedian on his Truth Social during Hollywood’s Biggest Night, writing, “Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars. His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be. Get rid of Kimmel and perhaps replace him with another washed up, but cheap, ABC ‘talent,’ George Slopanopoulos [sic].”

Trump also criticized the ceremony as a “really bad politically correct show,” and called it “disjointed, boring, and very unfair.”

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host took a few moments to address the former president — who is facing dozens of charges and four criminal indictments — toward the end of the live Oscars telecast.

“Doing this show is not about me, and I appreciate you having me — it’s really about you. But I was told we have an extra minute and I’m really proud of something, and I was wondering if I could share it with you.” Kimmel said to the audience and viewers at home as he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. “I just got a review.”

After reading Trump’s social media post, the comedian asked the laughing attendees at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles if they could guess who wrote the review of the Oscars telecast. “Anyone? No? Thank you, President Trump. Thank you for watching!” he said before deadpanning, “Isn’t it past your jail time?”

Kimmel also shared a clip of the moment on his Instagram account after the ceremony wrapped, captioning the video: “This is my Oscar. Thank you Donald Trump.”

This isn’t the first time Kimmel has mocked the former president during the Academy Awards. During his first time hosting in 2017, the late-night host poked fun at Trump not only during the monologue, but throughout the telecast, including live-tweeting at the real-estate mogul, who had been unusually quiet on his then favorite outlet — Twitter — during the ceremony.

Watch Kimmel clap back at Trump during the 2024 Oscars below:

When Emma Stone hit the 2024 Oscars stage on Sunday night (March 10) to accept the best actress prize for Poor Things, she caught Swifties’ attention by using a phrase that also happens to be a Taylor Swift song title.

“I know I have to wrap up, but I really just want to thank my family – my mom, my brother Spencer, my dad, my husband Dave, I love you so much,” Stone said to finish her speech, before shouting out Louise, her daughter with former Saturday Night Live writer Dave McCary, who was born in 2021. “And, most importantly, my daughter, who’s gonna be 3 in three days and has turned our lives technicolor. I love you bigger than the whole sky, my girl.”

Swift has a song called “Bigger Than the Whole Sky” on her 2022 deluxe album Midnights (3am Edition), which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week after the project’s release. Swift wrote the song solo and co-produced it with her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff.

While Stone used the phrase in the speech to share her infinite love for her daughter, Swift’s song appears to be about grieving a loss, with the lyric: “Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye/ You were bigger than the whole sky.” In fact, Swift live-debuted the song at an Eras Tour stop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in November, seemingly in tribute to a fan who had died two days prior after attending her concert.

Swift may not have coined the phrase, though it’s hard to track its definitive origin. Some point out the similarity to an Emily Dickinson poem from 1862 that reads: “The Brain—is wider than the Sky.”

But given Swift and Stone’s longtime friendship – including speculation that the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) vault track “When Emma Falls in Love” was written about the actress – Swifties were quick to point out Stone’s choice of words on Sunday night, taking to social media to share their delight at the connection.

Find some of the best reaction to Stone’s seeming Swift lyrical reference below:

As Jimmy Kimmel is finding out anew, you can’t make everyone happy. Nobody was off limits during the Oscars host’s speeches at the ceremony Sunday (March 10), including Hailey Bieber — and some fans aren’t happy.

During his opening monologue, during which he joked about everyone from Robert Downey Jr. to U.S. senator Katie Britt, Kimmel name-dropped the model — who is married to Justin Bieber — while referring to the Hollywood collective as “heavily botoxed, Hailey Bieber smoothie drinking, diabetes prescription abusing, gluten sensitive nepo babies with perpetually shivering chihuahuas.”

And while Hailey does actually have her own smoothie available at Erehwon, and is by most definitions a so-called nepo baby (her father is actor Stephen Baldwin), many viewers who tuned in to the awards show weren’t amused.

“the hailey bieber hate is so forced and tired at this point,” one person tweeted during the show. “leave this woman alone.”

“He was obviously talking about the ‘hailey bieber smoothie’ and wasn’t being shady,” mused another person. “but this was so [badly] worded and unfunny..”

Billboard has reached out to Justin and Hailey Bieber for comment.

Kimmel, however, said just a few days prior to the 2024 Oscars that he knew in advance he’d likely step on some people’s toes. “It’s not that easy,” he told CNN of the hosting gig. “It depends on the person because some people are more sensitive than others. God help you, if I know you. Like, if you’ve been to my house, you’re in trouble on Oscar night.”

During that same interview, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! star also noted that he probably wouldn’t crack any jokes about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship during the show — a promise he held by the end of the ceremony.

In addition to quips about skincare moguls, this year’s Oscars featured presentations from Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Bad Bunny and more, as well as performances from Billie Eilish with Finneas (who won best original song for “What Was I Made For?”), Ryan Gosling, Becky G, Jon Batiste and Scott George and The Osage Singers. Among the award winners were Emma Stone, who took home best actress for Poor Things, Cillian Murphy, 2024’s best actor for Oppenheimer and more.

Watch Kimmel’s Oscars 2024 monologue above.