Jimmy Kimmel Says He Was Told Not to Read Donald Trump’s Truth Social Post at Oscars
Al Pacino wasn’t the only one who went off script during Sunday night’s Academy Awards. According to Jimmy Kimmel, he was discouraged from reading Donald Trump’s social media posts about his monologue live on-air, a bit that became a highlight from the awards show.
Kimmel said the show was running short so he was told he could add a bit. He opted to read Trump’s post from the stage.
“They’re like, ‘You’ve got a little bit of time’ and I was like, ‘I’m reading the Trump tweet,’ and they’re like, ‘No, no, don’t read that,'” Kimmel said during an interview with Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos that aired Monday morning. “[I was like] ‘Yes I am.’”
The late night host did not clarify in the interview who exactly told him not to read the post, but Oscars producer/”Jimmy Kimmel Live” EP/Kimmel’s wife Molly McNearney later admitted to being that voice.
“I’m really not proud of this, but I tried to talk Jimmy out of reading that,” she told Variety. “I feel like my instincts are usually right, but I was totally off on that. I said, ‘Please don’t read this.’”
She noted that when Kimmel asked why, she told him, “I don’t want to give Trump airtime in the Oscars. This is the one time we don’t have to talk about him. We talk about him every night… This night is not about him and it’s not about politics.”
McNearney added that she also didn’t want to end the show on “a sour note.” But she praised Kimmel for how he handled it, explaining that he’d worked with his writers to come up with his line to follow up after reading the social post. Given how well it went over, McNearney said, “I’m never going to win an argument in my household again!”
After Kimmel’s monologue, Trump took to Truth Social to post about the ABC host, asking if there was a “worse host” than Kimmel. The former president also suggested that the late night host be replaced by “Good Morning America” co-anchor George Stephanopoulos, which he referred to as “another washed up, but cheap, ABC ‘talent.'” Trump also wrote the morning host’s name as “George Slopanopoulos.”
During the 96th Annual Academy Awards, Kimmel gleefully asked the audience if he could share Trump’s “review” and proceeded to read the former president’s post. “See if you can guess which former president just posted that on Truth Social?” said Kimmel. “Anyone? No?”
“Thank you, President Trump,” Kimmel continued. “Thank you for watching. I’m surprised you’re still up. Isn’t it past your jail time?”
TheWrap has reached out to the Academy for comment.
There are currently four cases against Trump, not counting E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case against the politician and celebrity, which ended with Trump being ordered to pay $83.3 million to Carroll. Trump has since posted a bond of nearly $92 million to stop Carroll from trying to collect.
Trial dates have been set for both Trump’s classified documents case, which accuses Trump of taking sensitive government documents to Mar-a-Lago when he left office, and his Manhattan hush money case, which involves the adult film actress Stormy Daniels. As for the cases relating to Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection and election fraud in Georgia, charges have been filed but a date has not yet been set.
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