9 political jokes at the Oscars, ranked from worst to best
Before the stunning and dramatic ending to the Oscars, host Jimmy Kimmel, presenters and winners took the opportunity to make political statements. (Clips courtesy A.M.P.A.S.© 2017)
There wasn’t a Meryl Streep moment at the Academy Awards on Sunday night, and any political fireworks would have been overtaken by the botched Best Picture award at the end of the show anyway. But host Jimmy Kimmel did tell a bunch of political jokes at the expense of President Trump — and others.
Kimmel zeroed in, as might have been expected, on Trump’s controversial travel ban and tweeting habits. But they weren’t all directed at Trump. They also targeted the Oscars themselves, Mel Gibson and (even though people may not have realized it at the time) Ben Carson.
Below, a recap of the jokes, ranked in ascending order.
9) “This broadcast is being watched live by millions of Americans and around the world in more than 225 countries that now hate us.”
Travel ban joke. It was decent.
8) To French actress Isabelle Huppert, who was nominated for best actress for “Elle”: “You were amazing in that film, and I’m glad Homeland Security let you in tonight. I really am.”
Another pretty predictable travel ban joke.
7) Tweeting at Trump at 10:50 p.m.
Tweeting on-air at the Oscars has kind of been done, as had the Trump Twitter thing (see the end of this list). This would have worked better if Trump, who was at the Governors’ Ball in Washington, actually responded.
A former campaign spokeswoman did take the bait, though:
@realDonaldTrump is busy meeting w/governors of the nation. You know, people that actually get things done, not just pretend to in costume. https://t.co/rAoFD1gwHv
— Katrina Pierson (@KatrinaPierson) February 27, 2017
6) Kimmel at one point demanded CNN, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times all leave the room — an allusion to the White House excluding certain outlets from an off-camera briefing on Friday. “Even the Medieval Times, I’d like to ask you to leave the building right now, okay? We have no tolerance for fake news. Fake tans, we…
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