--- description: Jimmy Kimmel kicked off the 89th annual Academy Awards sparing no shots President Donald Trump title: The Best Jokes From Jimmy Kimmel's Oscars Monologue image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfd7c84a58248281/6988bc03ab6d77a56c6acff4/jimmy-kimmel.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [awards](/tag/awards/) ## awards Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Best Jokes From Jimmy Kimmel's Oscars Monologue ## Video: This Video Is No Longer Available [Watch (HLS stream): This Video Is No Longer Available](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8) (0:10)  _Published 2026-06-23. He didn't wait long to bash President Trump_ by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Feb 27, 2017 2:23 AM CUT by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Feb 27, 2017 2:23 AM CUT Jimmy Kimmel kicked off the [89th annual Academy Awards](http://time.com/4652500/oscars-2017-jimmy-kimmel-predictions/ "undefined") 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](http://time.com/4681967/donald-trump-oscars-academy-awards/ "undefined") “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](http://time.com/4656603/cry-me-a-river-dance/ "undefined"), who opened the Oscars with performance of “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” which is nominated for Best Original Song. **MORE** [See All the Winners of the 2017 Oscars](http://time.com/4680083/oscars-2017-winners-list/ "undefined") “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](http://time.com/4683230/oscars-2017-jimmy-kimmel-matt-damon-feud/ "undefined"), with whom he has had a [long-running fake feud](http://time.com/4473441/jimmy-kimmel-matt-damon-feud-history-timeline/ "undefined"). “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](http://time.com/4683283/oscars-2017-jimmy-kimmel-meryl-streep/ "undefined"), 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.” > [](https://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/status/836030494521221120) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4683245/oscars-2017-jimmy-kimmel-monologue/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4683245/oscars-2017-jimmy-kimmel-monologue/"},"headline":"The Best Jokes From Jimmy Kimmel's Oscars Monologue","datePublished":"2017-02-27T02:23:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-24T06:56:52.859Z","description":"He didn't wait long to bash President Trump","url":"https://time.com/4683245/oscars-2017-jimmy-kimmel-monologue/","keywords":["awards","onetime","Oscars 2017"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfd7c84a58248281/6988bc03ab6d77a56c6acff4/jimmy-kimmel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfd7c84a58248281/6988bc03ab6d77a56c6acff4/jimmy-kimmel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"89th Academy Awards - Oscars Awards Show","caption":"Jimmy Kimmel hosts the 89th Academy Awards, on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, Calif.","creditText":"Lucy Nicholson—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/awards/","name":"awards"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4683245/oscars-2017-jimmy-kimmel-monologue/","name":"The Best Jokes From Jimmy Kimmel's Oscars Monologue"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This Video Is No Longer Available","description":"He didn't wait long to bash President Trump","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fKodeUO6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-06-23T15:00:44.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4683245/oscars-2017-jimmy-kimmel-monologue/","duration":"PT10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4683245/oscars-2017-jimmy-kimmel-monologue/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```