Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel has divided film fans after he mocked Robert De Niro in his opening monologue.
On Sunday, Jimmy, 56, took to the stage once again to present the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
A slew of famous faces were in attendance - some of whom the American Talkshow host namechecked in his hilarious introduction.
During the monologue, he claimed Best Supporting Actor nominee Ryan Gosling and his snubbed co-star Margot Robbie had won the ‘genetic lottery’.
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He also praised Lily Gladstone’s ‘riveting’ performance in Killers of the Flower Moon and made a pop at Oppenheimer’s Robert Downey Jr. for his previous addiction to drugs.
However, it’s his quip at 80-year-old Robert De Niro’s personal life that has social media in a frenzy.
The two-time Academy Award winner - who was nominated this year in the Best Supporting Actor category for his work on Killers of the Flower Moon - is currently in a relationship with 45-year-old Tiffany Chen.
Elsewhere in the crowd at the Dolby Theatre was Robert’s Taxi Driver co-star Jodie Foster, who was up for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Nyad.
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The pair famously starred alongside each other on the 1977 film and Jimmy referred to the moment in his opening monologue.
“Here’s some fun Oscars trivia,” the star began. “48 years ago Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster were nominated for Taxi Driver and they are both nominated again tonight.
“And that’s funny because in 1976, Jodie Foster is young enough to be Robert De Niro’s daughter - now she’s 20 years too old to be his girlfriend.”
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After delivering the punchline, the Raging Bull actor could be seen smiling as Jodie, 61, could be seen laughing and nodding her head.
Following the quip, viewers across the globe were quick to jump on social media and have their say about the dig.
One user of X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote: “The joke that 40 years ago Jodie Foster was old enough to play Robert De Niro's daughter and now she is old enough to make his wife the only good joke in Jimmy Kimmel's monologue.”
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A second said: “Wow just taking Ricky Gervais jokes now huh.”
“Okay this one was actually a pretty funny joke, rare for Kimmel,” commented another.
A fourth said: “Jimmy Kimmel should PAY people to listen to him. But we live in a world where most unfunny people make huge money NOT to make people laugh.”
TYLA has contacted a representative of Jimmy Kimmel for comment.
Topics: Celebrity, Oscars, Sex and Relationships, TV And Film, Entertainment
Ella Scott