Oscars: Jimmy Kimmel’s Monologue Celebrates Hollywood’s Double Strikes – Except the DGA, ‘You Guys Folded Immediately’
Jimmy Kimmel took some time to celebrate Hollywood’s double strikes during his Oscars monologue on Sunday night, applauding all those who stood in solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA in 2023. But the host made sure to point out that the Director’s Guild of America “folded immediately.”
“We were on strike for a long time, for 148 days. For five months, this group of writers, actors and directors, the people who actually make the films, said we will not accept a deal,” Kimmel praised. “Well, not the directors, you guys folded immediately.”
The moment earned a huge laugh from the crowd because, indeed, the directors’ guild struck a deal well before the writers’ and actors’ guilds did. That said, seven months later — after the WGA and SAG went on strike — the DGA amended the deal that they struck.
“But the rest of us said we will not accept the deal without protections against artificial intelligence,” Kimmel continued. “And as a result, actors no longer have to worry about getting replaced by AI. Thanks to this historic agreement, actors are now able to go back to worrying about being replaced by younger, more attractive people — and I think that’s great.”
The host then joked that SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher has “returned to her volunteer work reading loudly to the hearing impaired,” before slipping in a bit more sincerity — but only a bit.
“We can be proud of the fact that this long and difficult work stoppage taught us that this very strange town of ours, as pretentious and superficial as it can be, at its heart, is a union town,” he said.
Kimmel then returned to poking fun at Hollywood, joking, “This is a coalition of strong, hard-working mentally tough American laborers, women and men who would 100% for sure die if we even had to touch the handle of a shovel.”
All that said, the host did have one more shoutout to make in celebrating the strikes.
“The reason we were able to make a deal is because of the people who rallied beside us,” he said. “And before we celebrate ourselves, let’s have a very well deserved round of applause for the people who work behind the scenes.”
At that, Kimmel brought the crew members behind the Oscars on stage, celebrating below-the-line employees, whose contract talks began days before the Academy Awards ceremony.
The post Oscars: Jimmy Kimmel’s Monologue Celebrates Hollywood’s Double Strikes – Except the DGA, ‘You Guys Folded Immediately’ appeared first on TheWrap.
