Schumer took to the stage April 2 for a comedy set at Las Vegas’ Mirage Theater as part of the Aces of Comedy series, and the “Life & Beth” star didn’t hold back when it came to revealing what the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences didn’t want her to say at the awards show. “I don’t even know what to say about the Oscars,” Schumer said, as reported by Vanity Fair. “Like, I really don’t know what to say. I have no jokes about it. All I can say is that I don’t know if you saw this, but Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. Did you read that in your newsfeed?” Schumer went on to refer to Best Actor winner Smith as “Ali,” a nod to Smith’s performance as boxer Muhammed Ali.
“I was kind of feeling myself…and then all of a sudden Ali was making his way up,” Schumer continued. “And it was just a fucking bummer. All I can say is that it was really sad, and I think it says so much about toxic masculinity. It was really upsetting, but I think the best way to comfort ourselves would be for me to say the Oscar jokes that I wasn’t allowed to say on TV.”
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James Franco and Joe Rogan were the subjects of Schumer’s banned jokes from the Oscars telecast, plus a nod to the tragedy on the set of “Rust” that resulted in cinematographer Halyna Hutchins being shot and killed.
“I want to preface these Oscar jokes by saying that my lawyer said not to say these,” Schumer said. “Don’t tell anybody and don’t get mad at me.”
Schumer then told her “Rust” quip: ” ‘Don’t Look Up’ is the name of a movie? More like don’t look down the barrel of Alec Baldwin’s shotgun,” she said. “I wasn’t allowed to say any of that [at the Oscars], but you can just come up and [slap] someone.”
“I’m still in shock and stunned and sad,” Schumer summed up in a social media post after the ceremony. “I’m proud of myself and my co-hosts. But yeah, waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed.”
Smith has since resigned from the Academy amid official disciplinary proceedings.
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