‘This show is not about reliving people’s sexual assaults’: Jimmy Kimmel rules out #MeToo jokes at Oscars

The glamorous ceremony returns this Sunday
Fair game: Kimmel didn't rule out taking swipes at the President throughout his presentation
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Safeeyah Kazi28 February 2018
The Weekender

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Jimmy Kimmel has said that he won't be making any #MeToo jokes at this year's Oscars as the show is “not about relieving people’s sexual assaults”.

In the interview on Tuesday's Good Morning America, the host explained that the annual ceremony was about honouring the winners.

Kimmel emphasised that the evening was meant to be memorable for “those who had been dreaming about winning an Oscar for their whole lives.”

Speaking to ABC’s Paula Faris, Kimmel said: “This show is not about reliving people's sexual assaults.

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“The last thing I want to do is ruin that for someone who is, you know, nominated for, you know, best leading actress or best supporting or best director or cinematographer, or whatever, by making it unpleasant.

“I’m not going to…stop any bad behaviour with my jokes.”

The talk-show host didn’t, however, rule out taking political swipes throughout his presentation.

The 50-year-old said: “A lot of people are going with this line of reasoning where they say, people in showbusiness shouldn’t speak out about politics.

Host: Kimmel is reprising his role of presenting at this year's Oscars
Randy Holmes/ABC via AP

“And yet…they elected Donald Trump the president of the United States. So I think that argument has pretty well jumped out the window.

He continued: “I’m still doing a comedy show and I need to be funny and entertain my audience, but I also think that we’ve matured enough…to the point where we can accept late-night talk show hosts speaking about a serious subject. And I think that it’s almost necessary now.”

Kimmel poked fun at last year’s infamous Best Picture mix-up during an advert leading up to this weekend’s event.

The Oscars take place on Sunday 4 March.

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