Jimmy Kimmel has been praised for addressing criticism from an old rival during Sunday night's Oscars awards.
As the stars of Hollywood descended on Hollywood’s Dolby Theater for the 96th annual Academy Awards, all eyes were on one man to see the event from start to finish slap-free: Jimmy Kimmel.
Now, it's safe to say that the 56-year-old host didn't have the smoothest of evenings, with many viewers calling out his opening monologue for having some rather distasteful jokes about eventual Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr.
Nevertheless, perhaps Kimmel's biggest critic of the night was a man who has often taken jabs at the late night host - and vice-versa - former US president Donald Trump. Check out the moment below:
During the evening's proceedings, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to share his thoughts on Kimmel's presenting skills. His full post can be read below:
"Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars. His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be. Get rid of Kimmel and perhaps replace him with another washed up, but cheap, ABC 'talent,' George Slopanopoulos. He would make everybody on stage look bigger, stronger, and more glamorous. 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!"
Not one to let a joke about Trump go by, Kimmel took to the Oscars stage to address the ex-POTUS' criticism.
After reading Trump's post in-full, Kimmel then asked the room: "See if you can guess which former president just posted that on Truth Social."
Then, after thanking 77-year-old Trump for watching the show, Kimmel quipped: "Isn’t it past your jail time?" - a shot at the former president's recent legal troubles.
The gag turned out to be Kimmel's most successful joke of the night, resulting in big laughs from the stars in the room. Additionally, over on X, viewers applauded the host for directly addressing Trump's criticism head-on.
One viewer tweeted: "Jimmy Kimmel just responded to Donald Trump making fun of his Oscar hosting performance saying 'Isn't it past your jail time?' This is amazing. Perfectly done!!!"
Another added: "Donald Trump’s crude, immature, and deranged social media post on the Oscars was just ruthlessly mocked by Jimmy Kimmel on live television in front of the world’s biggest celebrities on one of the most watched events of the year and the entire room laughed in his face. This is his nightmare."
"Jimmy Kimmel reads a bad review of his hosting posted by Trump and then delivers the line of the night," another viewer wrote.
Trump is presently confronting a slew of legal challenges, including four felony charges related to his endeavors to overturn the 2020 election in Washington DC, 13 felony counts for election interference in Georgia, 34 felony allegations concerning hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in New York, and a staggering 40 felony charges for retaining classified documents following his presidency and impeding the government's retrieval efforts in Florida.
