Jimmy Kimmel defied Oscars producers who tried to stop him from reading Trump’s post

After hosting the 2024 Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel sat down for an interview with Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos to discuss some of the evening's most memorable moments. One of the highlights was Kimmel's decision to read out Donald Trump's scathing review of the show, posted on Truth Social.

Trump's post criticised Kimmel's hosting and the show's perceived political correctness. “Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars,” Trump posted. “His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be…Also a really bad politically correct show tonight, and for years – Disjointed, boring, and very unfair. Why don’t they just give the Oscars to those that deserve them. Maybe that way their audience and TV ratings will come back from the depths. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Kimmel responded on stage by jokingly thanking Trump for watching and quipping, “Blah, blah, blah … OK, now, see if you can guess which former president just posted that on Truth Social. Anyone? No? Well, thank you, President Trump. Thank you for watching, I’m surprised you’re still — isn’t it past your jail time?”

Kimmel revealed that producers advised him against reading Trump's post, but he decided to do it anyway. He recounted, "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.' [I was like] ‘Yes I am.’”

Regarding Al Pacino's awkward announcement of the best picture award to Oppenheimer, Kimmel joked, "I guess he’s never watched an awards show before." For those unaware, instead of reading the nominees Pacino simply opened the envelope and said, “And my eyes see ‘Oppenheimer’."

Oppenheimerwas the biggest winner of the night, taking home seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Christopher Nolan.