Amy Schumer tells a dark Alec Baldwin shooting joke that 'wasn't allowed' at the Oscars
The 2022 Oscars almost featured an even more controversial joke than the one that set off Will Smith.
Oscars co-host Amy Schumer in a recent stand-up set told some of the "Oscar jokes that I wasn't allowed to say on TV," including a dark one about the deadly shooting on Alec Baldwin's film Rust, Variety reports. "Don't Look Up is the name of a movie? More like don't look down the barrel of Alec Baldwin's shotgun," Schumer said.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed last October on the set of Rust after a gun Baldwin was holding during the rehearsal of a scene unexpectedly went off. He's currently being sued but has denied all wrongdoing and hasn't been charged.
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Schumer didn't make clear who cut the joke from the Oscars or how seriously she tried to include it, but she told her audience "my lawyer said not to say these," adding, "Don't tell anybody and don't get mad at me." She made a different Don't Look Up joke at the Oscars, quipping, "I guess the Academy members don't look up reviews."
During her stand-up set, Schumer also addressed Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards over a joke about his wife, which she previously said left her "triggered and traumatized."
"It was just a f--king bummer," Schumer said. "All I can say is that it was really sad, and I think it says so much about toxic masculinity. It was really upsetting."
Schumer's cut joke about the Rust shooting quickly sparked backlash, with critic Carolyn Hinds tweeting, "The death of Halyna Hutchins was tragic and should've never happened. Her family and friends are still coping with her loss, and for this person to even think of making a 'joke' about it, is detestable." Author Gerrick Kennedy also argued "to 'joke' about a woman being killed on set at the Oscars is another level of low."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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