Amy Schumer shares her joke that was deemed inappropriate for Oscars

Amy Schumer, a comedian, was one of the co-hosts of the 94th Annual Academy Awards, which took place last Sunday in Los Angeles. As co-host, she not only entertained the crowd with several jokes, but she also had front-row seats to the drama that ensued when Will Smith smacked Chris Rock on the stage. Amy spoke out about the Oscars and disclosed the one joke she wasn’t ‘allowed’ to say during the ceremony during her recent stand-up show in Las Vegas.

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Amy co-hosted the Oscars 2022 event with Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, and while not being on stage when the Will-Chris slap incident occurred, the three attempted to salvage the night. Amy was also criticised for a joke in which she referred to Oscar-winner Kirsten Dunst as a “seat filler.” She then claimed that both Kirsten and Jesse Plemmons were in on the joke. Amy’s most contentious joke of the night, however, was not.

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One of the gags Amy said she wasn’t permitted to tell on the Oscars stage was about actor Alec Baldwin unintentionally shooting a staff member on the set of his film Rust last year. Amy relayed the joke, beginning with a reference to Leonardo DiCaprio‘s film Don’t Look Up “Don’t Look Up is the name of a movie? More like don’t look down the barrel of Alec Baldwin’s shotgun. I wasn’t allowed to say any of that, but you can just come up and (slap) someone.”

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Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer, died on the set of Rust on October 21, 2021, after being shot and injured. A real bullet was discharged by a pretend gun held by the main actor Alec Baldwin during the event. The event generated a heated debate over Hollywood mandated safety standards and norms. Amy’s joke was probably considered too offensive for the Oscars event by the organisers.

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Amy commented on the slapping incident, saying, “I was kind of feeling myself. And then all of a sudden, Ali (referring to Will Smith, who played boxer Muhammed Ali in a 2001 biopic) was making his way up and it was just a f***ing bummer. All I can say is that it was really sad, and I think it says so much about toxic masculinity. It was upsetting.”

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Amy had previously stated on Instagram that the event had ‘shocked and traumatised’ her and praised Chris for ‘handling it like a pro.’ “Still triggered and traumatized. I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro. Stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend @questlove and the whole thing was so disturbing. So much pain in @willsmith anyway I’m still in shock and stunned and sad,” she said in her message.