J immy Kimmel kicked off the 89th annual Academy Awards by sparing no shots at President Donald Trump. The Jimmy Kimmel Live! star also poked fun at the Hollywood elite—and, of course, his (fake) rival Matt Damon.
Kimmel didn’t wait long to bash Trump, saying, “I want to say thank you to President Trump. Remember last year when it seemed like the Oscars were racist? That’s gone, thanks to him.” Later, he said Trump would tweet about the Oscars “during his 5 a.m. bowel movement.”
Oscars 2017: See Celebrities Hit the Red Carpet Taraji P. Henson on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images John Legend and Chrissy Teigen on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Janelle Monáe on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Karlie Kloss on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Naomie Harris on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Emma Stone on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images Ryan Gosling on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. George Pimentel—Getty Images Dakota Johnson on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Viola Davis on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Jeff Kravitz—Getty Images Casey Affleck on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Ruth Negga on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Lester Cohen—Getty Images Priyanka Chopra on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images Jessica Beil on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Max Martin, Justin Timberlake and Karl Johan Schuster on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Charlize Theron on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Nicole Kidman on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images Scarlett Johansson on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Trevante Rhodes, Alex R. Hibbert and Ashton Sanders on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Jeff Kravitz—Getty Images Mahershala Ali on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Brie Larson on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images Luz Towns-Miranda and Lin-Manuel Miranda on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Tyler Golden—ABC/Getty Images Dev Patel on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Halle Berry on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. George Pimentel—Getty Images Viggo Mortensen on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Ava DuVernay on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Felicity Jones on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Trudie Styler and Sting on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Hailee Steinfeld on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Luciana Barroso and Matt Damon on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Kirsten Dunst on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Barry Jenkins on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Salma Hayek on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevork Djansezian—Getty Images Andrew Garfield on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Jackie Chan on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Olivia Culpo on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Terrence Howard on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Auli'i Cravalho on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Kerri Higuchi and John Cho on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Teresa Palmer on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Isabelle Huppert on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Tarell Alvin, right, and guest on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Leslie Mann on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Ginnifer Goodwin on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images Sunny Pawar on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Allison Schroeder on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty Images Pauletta Washington and Denzel Washington on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Lucas Hedges on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Lester Cohen—Getty Images Riz Ahmed on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. George Pimentel—Getty Images Octavia Spencer on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Jeff Kravitz—Getty Images Susan Geston and Jeff Bridges on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Michelle Williams on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Laura Dern on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Olivia Hamilton and Damien Chazelle on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Steve Granitz—Getty Images Alicia Vikander on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images Sofia Boutella arrives on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. / AFP / VALERIE MACON (Photo credit should read VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images) Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images He said many people had told him to address the political divides in the U.S., saying he would not be able to do that. “There’s only one Braveheart in the room,” he said, in reference to Mel Gibson. “And he’s not going to unite us either.”
Kimmel started the night with a barb at Justin Timberlake , who opened the Oscars with performance of “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” which is nominated for Best Original Song.
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“On your behalf, I really hope the other guys from NSYNC were watching that performance because if they were, I think there’s a really good chance they’re going to let you back in the band,” Kimmel said.
And he couldn’t miss the chance to call out Damon , with whom he has had a long-running fake feud .
“I’ve known Matt for so long, when I first met Matt, I was the fat one,” he said. Kimmel continued: “Matt, as you probably know, could have starred in Manchester By the Sea . He handed what turned out to be an Oscar-caliber role over to his friend and made a Chinese ponytail movie instead.”
In closing his monologue, Kimmel teased the “highly overrated” Meryl Streep , who is nominated for her 20th Oscar. “Meryl Streep has phoned it in for more than 50 films over her lackluster career,” he joked.
Kimmel’s monologue earned praise from previous Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres, who said it was “so brilliant it’s already overrated.”