Jimmy Kimmel roasted Robert Downey Jr’s manhood and past drug use in his bombshell opening monologue at the 2024 Oscars on Sunday.
The host, 56, returning for the fourth time, left the A-listers grinning and cringing in equal measure as he took to the stage.
Downey Jr. 58, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Oppenheimer was stony-faced as Kimmel made a crass joke at the start of the ceremony – referring to the reformed coke addict’s past addictions.
He said: ‘And Robert Downey Jr., one of the highest points of his career. But Robert has been’ – as RDJ pointed at his face, leading Kimmel to add: ‘Was that too on the nose or a drug motion you made?
‘But look at him, he’s so handsome, so talented, he’s won every award there is to win. Is that an acceptance speech in your pocket or do you just have a very rectangular penis?’
The joke fell flat as RDJ looked somber while staring at the camera while fans slammed Kimmel for his ‘bottom of the barrel’ jokes about substance abuse.
Downey Jr. had previously spent time behind bars in 1999 after a long period of substance abuse which stifled his career.
Jimmy Kimmel roasted panned Madame Web, Barbie’s Oscars snubs and Robert Downey Jr’s manhood in his bombshell opening monologue on at the 2024 Oscars on Sunday
Downey Jr. 58, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Oppenheimer was stony-faced as Kimmel made a crass joke at the start of the ceremony
John Cena appeared naked onstage to present Best Costume design in a cringe moment
He added: ’20 years ago, Robert played the villain, and correct me if I have this wrong, in a movie where Tim Allen turns into a dog, right? And if you ever decide to remake that film, I have just the guy to play Tim Allen.
The actor’s legal troubles began in 1996 when he was stopped for speeding and authorities found of heroin, cocaine and an unloaded .357 caliber Magnum. A year later, he skipped a court-ordered drug test and spent nearly four months in the Los Angeles County jail.
Following this, he then skipped another drug test and was sentenced to three years of prison in 1999. During this time, Downey Jr. served 15 months in state prison in Corcoran, California.
A few months after his release, he was arrested on Thanksgiving weekend for alleged cocaine and Valium possession and being under the influence of drugs.
The valium charge was eventually reduced to a misdemeanor, he pleaded no contest to the remaining charges and avoided more jail time.
In 2001, he was found walking bare foot around Culver City, Los Angeles, and was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs.
Following year of substance abuse, arrests, rehabs and relapse, Downey made a full recovery and has since gone on to achieve global recognition.
Another cringeworthy moment saw a naked John Cena dragged onstage by Kimmel in a skit marking the 50th anniversary of the iconic Oscars streaker.
He said: ‘And Robert Downey Jr., one of the highest points of his career. But Robert has been’ – as RDJ pointed at his face, leading Kimmel to add: ‘Was that too on the nose or a drug motion you made?’
‘But look at him, he’s so handsome, so talented, he’s won every award there is to win. Is that an acceptance speech in your pocket or do you just have a very rectangular penis?’
The joke fell flat as RDJ looked somber while staring at the camera alongside wife Susan
Reformed cocaine addict Downey is pictured here in his mug shot taken at the California Department of Corrections to start his three year spell behind bars
Fans slammed Kimmel for his ‘awful’ jokes about RDJ
Kimmel said ‘At the 46th Academy Awards in 1974, David iven was introducing Elizabeth Taylor when a nude man, a streaker, ran across the stage, which — can you imagine if a nude man ran across the stage today? I
‘I said, can you imagine if — a nude man ran across the stage today? Wouldn’t that be crazy?
Cena backstage then said: ‘Psst! Psst, Jimmy! Come here.
Kimmel said: ‘I can’t come there — do the thing! Excuse me for a second. What’s going on? You’re supposed to run across the stage’ as Cena said: ‘Yeah, I — changed my mind. I don’t want to do the streaker bit.’
‘I just don’t feel right about it. It’s an elegant event, you know, you should feel shame right now for suggesting such a tasteless…
Kimmel said: ‘You wrestle naked, why not?’ as Cena said: ‘I don’t wrestle naked, I wrestle in jorts.’
Cena said: ‘Costumes — they are so important. Maybe the most important thing there is. I — I can’t open the envelope. Can anybody help me?
Kimmel also took a swipe at box office bomb Madame Web starring Dakota Johnson as he said: ‘The show, as you know, is starting an hour early this year, but don’t worry, it will still end very, very late. In fact, we’re already five minutes over and I am not joking.
‘I’m not going to lie, it’s going to be a long night, after what was a long year. It was a hard year, but it was also a great year for movies, despite the fact that everything stopped. The people in this room somehow managed to come up with so many excellent films and memorable performances, this night is full of enormous talent, and untold potential.
‘But so was Madame Web, but who knows. Are we off to a bumpy start in this is a meaningful occasion. This is something you dreamed about as a kid. And now, here we are, all dressed up, celebrating the best of the best, beginning with the biggest movie of the year, Barbie.
Shifting the focus to Barbie’s notable snubs in the Best Actress and director category for Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig, he said: ‘Barbie was a monster hit. What a thing. What an achievement to take a plastic doll nobody even liked anymore, I mean, my wife, before this movie, you would had a better chance getting my wife to buy my daughter a pack of Marlboro Reds than a Barbie doll.
‘Now Barbie is a feminist icon, thanks to Greta Gerwig, who many believed deserved to nominated for best director tonight.
Cena showed off his sculpted physique as he walked onstage nude
He later donned some Grecian-inspired robes
‘Hold on a second. I know you’re clapping, but you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her, by the way. Don’t act like you had nothing to do with this. And I don’t want to leave out Margot Robbie, Margot put this giant hit together. She did.
‘Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are here tonight. Look, kids, it’s Barbie and Ken sitting near each other. Ryan, Margot, I want you to know that even if neither one of you wins an Oscar tonight, you both already won something much more important — the genetic lottery.
‘Ryan, you are so hot. Let’s go camping together and not tell our wives. And then we have the other major box office winner this year,
Elsewhere in the monologue Kimmel ripped Christopher Nolan for his interesting approach to making movies, saying: ‘Oppenheimer, directed by the great Christopher Nolan. Also a very attractive man.
‘And this is a very — this is a fascinating person. Christopher Nolan doesn’t have a smartphone, he doesn’t use email. And he writes his scripts on a computer with no internet connection, which is a powerful way of saying, I will not allow my porn addiction to get in the way of my work.
‘Christopher is joined by his longtime collaborator, Cillian Murphy, who is just wonderful. Interesting fact about his name, it’s pronounced Cillian, it’s silly Ann when he’s doing comedy.’
The second most nominated film of the year is Poor Things. There he is. Not only is Yorgos nominated for best director, his editor, whose name is also Yorgos, is nominated, too. We have two Yorgoses in in the house tonight. Will they both win?
‘Yorgos is as good as mine. All right, let’s get 20 seconds for room tone? Emma stone is an Oscar nominee for a fifth time. And Emma, you are — you are so unbelievably great in Poor Things.
‘Emma played an adult woman with the brain of a child, like the lady who gave the rebuttal to the state of the union on Thursday night. And you are just amazing. There were so many great movies that held audiences captive this And I mean that literally. Your movies were too long this year.
Kimmel also took a swipe at box office bomb Madame Web starring Dakota Johnson
He said: ‘This night is full of enormous talent, and untold potential. But so was Madame Web, but who knows’
‘The average length of the top ten movies was 2 hours and 23 minutes. That’s up 30 minutes from three years ago. When I went to see Killers of the Flower Moon I had my mail sent to the theater.
‘It’s so long, you could drive to Oklahoma and solve the murders yourself. The multitalented Bradley Cooper is here with us tonight, with his — he’s got another best picture nominee. With Maestro.
‘You brought your mom to the show tonight? Hi, Mrs. Cooper, how are you? Doing great? Bradley brings his mother to award shows. Last year at the Oscars and — not — okay, but and the Tonys and the Soul Train Awards, et cetera.
‘It’s very sweet, but the question is, how many times can one bring his mom as his date before he is actually dating his mom? Are you working on a movie about Freud right now and not telling us?
‘Here’s some fun Oscar trivia. 48 years ago, Robert de Niro and Jodie Foster were nominated for Taxi Driver and are both nominated again tonight. 1976 was the year. That’s pretty crazy.
Shifting the focus to Barbie’s notable snubs in the Best Actress and director category for Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig, he said: ‘Barbie was a monster hit. What a thing. What an achievement to take a plastic doll nobody even liked anymore
‘Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are here tonight. Look, kids, it’s Barbie and Ken sitting near each other. Ryan, Margot, I want you to know that even if neither one of you wins an Oscar tonight, you both already won something much more important — the genetic lottery’
Nominee Bradley Cooper looked to be loving the monologue
Blunt tried to lift her co-star’s spirits in the wake of the roast
‘In 1976, Jodie foster was young enough to be Robert de Niro’s daughter. Now, she’s 20 years too old to be his girlfriend. I also want to congratulate Robert’s costar Lily Gladstone, who is the first native American ever to be nominated for best actress.
‘Did you know that before she got this movie, she was ready to quit acting and take a job at the department of agriculture tracking murder hornets, right? And now she’s nominated for an Oscar which is so great for her, but makes me worry that no one is tracking these murder hornets. Lily is in excellent company.
‘We have many first-time nominees, Emily Blunt, Jeffrey Wright, sterling K. Brown, America Ferrera. Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Da’vine joy Randolph, and Sandra Huller.
‘Three foreign language films are up for best picture and two of them star Sandra Huller, which is — I mean — Sandra, two movies, Sandra plays a woman on trial for murdering her husband in Anatomy of a Fall and a Nazi housewife living next to Auschwitz in The Zone of Interest.
‘And while these are heavy subjects for American movie-goers, in Sandra’s native Germany, they’re called rom-coms. For the first time in more than two decades, we’re adding a new category to the Oscars.
‘Not tonight. In the future, they’ll add an Oscar for achievement in casting, which — yeah, you better — you’d better applaud for that. And that is great news for actors, because now not only will we be able to watch someone else win an Oscar for a part you didn’t get, you’ll be able to watch the person who didn’t think you were right for it win one, too.
Kimmel said: ‘Here’s some fun Oscar trivia. 48 years ago, Robert de Niro and Jodie Foster were nominated for Taxi Driver and are both nominated again tonight. 1976 was the year. That’s pretty crazy’
He added: ‘In 1976, Jodie foster was young enough to be Robert de Niro’s daughter. Now, she’s 20 years too old to be his girlfriend’
‘What a year we’ve had. Remember that kid from The Fabelmans. This is what he looks like now. Very good to have you here, Steven. Steven, are you nominated tonight or are you here because you have season tickets? Steven and his wife donated a lot of money to help actors and writers who were out of work later this summer.
‘We were on strike for a long time. For five months, this group, the people who actually make the films, said, we will not accept a deal — well, not the directors, you guys folded immediately, but the rest of us said, we will not accept a deal without protections against artificial intelligence, and as a result, actors no longer have to worry about getting replaced by A.I., thanks to this historic agreement, actors are now able to go back to worries about being replaced by younger, more attractive people, and I think that’s great.
‘And writers, could A.I. Have written Transformers: Rise of the Beasts? Yes, the answer is yes. We learned a lot while we were out on the picket line.
‘The strike raised questions about our industry, like, if a movie premiers at the grove and there are no actors there to promote it, does Mario Lopez make a sound? And now that the strike is over, now that Fran Drescher has returned to her volunteer work reading loudly to the hearing impaired, we can be proud of the fact that this long and difficult work stoppage taught us that this very strange town as ours, at its heart, is a union town.
Kimmel was in his element as he joked about the actors
Lily Gladstone clapped as she listened to the speech
Emma Stone looked radiant as she took in the speech
Oppenheimer nominee Emily Blunt clapped alongside John Krasinski
Annette Bening looked on as she took in the monologue
‘It’s not just a bunch of heavily botoxed, Hailey Bieber smoothie-drinking nepo babies with perpetually shivering think chihuahuas. Women and men who would die if we had to touch the handle of a shovel.
‘But the reason we were able to make a deal is because of the people who rallied beside us. Before we celebrate ourselves, let’s have a very well deserved round of applause for the people who work behind the scenes, the teamsters, the truck drivers, gaffers, grips, that’s right.
‘All the people who refused to cross the picket lines. There they are. If you are wearing sketchers to the Oscars, take a bow. Come on, guys, take a bow. Take a bow. You deserve it. Thank you for standing with us. [ Applause ]
‘And also, we want you to know that — [ applause ] In you’re upcoming negotiation, we will stand with you, too. And also, I’m going to make sure the show goes really long tonight, so, you get a ton of overtime. It’s golden time, everybody!
The 96th Academy Awards honors the best films of 2023 – with the glittering ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The most hotly anticipated movies of the past year – Barbie and Oppenheimer – lead the nominations.
Oppenheimer has bagged 13 nods, including best picture and best actor for Cillian Murphy – who is favorite to win the major category after scooping a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and SAG award for his role as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.
The impressive total – which also includes best supporting actor and actress for Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt, as well as best director for Christopher Nolan – is just one nomination short of the all-time record set by Titanic in 1998.
Last year’s other smash hit movie – Barbie – was nominated for eight awards, but also fell victim to notable snubs from the Academy.
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was nominated for best director and a host of other awards
Its star Margot Robbie was not nominated for best actress, while Greta Gerwig was not nominated for best director.
Another surprise saw America Ferrera nominated for best supporting actress over her role in Barbie, with pundits saying her character’s impassioned speech on feminism had sealed the deal.
Barbie’s other nominations include best picture, best supporting actor for Ryan Gosling and two nods for best song – including Gosling’s famed ‘I’m Just Ken.’
The second most-nominated movie was Poor Things, a graphic art house movie starring Emma Stone that has wowed critics but so-far failed to set the box office alight.
Stone plays a sex-crazed young woman, with her performance wowing critics. She previously won best actress in 2017 for her performance in La La Land.
For best actor in leading role Bradley Cooper and Cillian Murphy are set to duke it out for the award. Colman Domingo, Paul Giamatti and Jeffrey Wright received nominations as well.
Leonardo DiCaprio was not recognized for his acting on Killers Of The Flower Moon.
Lily Gladstone is the first Native American nominated for best actress, for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things took home 11 Oscar nominations and Killers of the Flower Moon landed 10.
Annette Bening, Lily Gladstone, Sandra Huller, Carey Mulligan and Emma Stone have been nominated for best actress in a leading role.
Gladstone is the first Native American nominated for best actress, for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon – and is the favorite in the category thanks to her wins at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards,
What Was I Made For by Billie Eilish and I’m Just Ken performed by Ryan Gosling from Barbie received their expected nominations for best original song.
Sterling K. Brown, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Gosling and Mark Ruffalo received nominations for best actor in a supporting role.
Emily Blunt, Danielle Brooks, America Ferrera, Jodie Foster and Da’Vine Joy Randolph received nominations for best actress in a supporting role.
Joy already has Golden Globe, Bafta, Critics Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards and is favorite for an Oscar for her performance as a bereaved cook in The Holdovers.
Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer were nominated for best directing, snubbing Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph was nominated for best actress in a supporting role for her part in The Holdovers
Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo were both nominated for their roles in Poor Things
Bradley Cooper was nominated for best actor, but was snubbed of a directing nod for Maestro
Gerwig was nominated for best director in 2018 for her solo directorial debut, Lady Bird. Only three women have won Oscars for best director – Kathryn Bigelow, Chloe Zhao and Jane Campion.
Though Nolan is regarded as the big-budget auteur of his era, he’s never won an Academy Award, nor have any of his films won best picture.
Bradley Cooper was not nominated for directing Maestro but he was recognized for his acting in that bio movie.
American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things and The Zone of Interest landed best picture nominations.
