Jimmy 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 ImagesJohn Legend and Chrissy Teigen on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesJanelle Monáe on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—Getty ImagesKarlie Kloss on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesNaomie Harris on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesEmma Stone on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—Getty ImagesRyan Gosling on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.George Pimentel—Getty ImagesDakota Johnson on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesViola Davis on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Jeff Kravitz—Getty ImagesCasey Affleck on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesRuth Negga on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Lester Cohen—Getty ImagesPriyanka Chopra on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—Getty ImagesJessica Beil on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesMax 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 ImagesCharlize Theron on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesNicole Kidman on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—Getty ImagesScarlett Johansson on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesTrevante 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 ImagesMahershala Ali on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesBrie Larson on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—Getty ImagesLuz 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 ImagesDev Patel on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesPharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesHalle Berry on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.George Pimentel—Getty ImagesViggo Mortensen on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesAva DuVernay on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesFelicity Jones on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesTrudie Styler and Sting on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesHailee Steinfeld on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesLuciana Barroso and Matt Damon on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesKirsten Dunst on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesBarry Jenkins on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesSalma Hayek on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevork Djansezian—Getty ImagesAndrew Garfield on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesJackie Chan on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesOlivia Culpo on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesTerrence Howard on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesAuli'i Cravalho on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesKerri Higuchi and John Cho on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesTeresa Palmer on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesIsabelle Huppert on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesTarell Alvin, right, and guest on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesLeslie Mann on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesGinnifer Goodwin on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesMichael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty ImagesSunny Pawar on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—Getty ImagesAllison Schroeder on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Angela Weiss—AFP/Getty ImagesPauletta Washington and Denzel Washington on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesLucas Hedges on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Lester Cohen—Getty ImagesRiz Ahmed on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.George Pimentel—Getty ImagesOctavia Spencer on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Jeff Kravitz—Getty ImagesSusan Geston and Jeff Bridges on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—Getty ImagesMichelle Williams on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—Getty ImagesLaura Dern on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—Getty ImagesOlivia Hamilton and Damien Chazelle on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—Getty ImagesAlicia Vikander on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—Getty ImagesSofia 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.
“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.
“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.”
.@JimmyKimmel, that monologue was so brilliant it's already overrated. #Oscars