Jimmy Kimmel addresses harassment, equal pay in Oscars monologue


In a pointed Oscars opening monologue, host Jimmy Kimmel didn't shy away from such hot topics as sexual harassment and gender inequality in Hollywood.
"I remember a time when the major studios didn't believe a woman or a minority could open a superhero movie," he said. "And the reason I remember that time is because it was March of last year." He mentioned Mark Wahlberg receiving $1.5 million to re-shoot scenes for All the Money in the World, while co-star Michelle Williams received a per diem pay, despite the actors both being represented by the same agent, and also what it took to get producer Harvey Weinstein kicked out of the academy.
There were lots of jokes, too — on Shape of Water, Kimmel noted that "we will always remember this year as the year men screwed up so badly women started dating fish," and if Hollywood can "work together to stop sexual harassment in the workplace, if we can do that, women will only have to deal with harassment all the time at every other place they go."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Kimmel then turned his attention to politics, encouraging the actors to use their speeches to bring attention to the March for Our Lives on March 24 and quipping, "We don't make films like Call Me By Your Name to make money, we make them to upset Mike Pence." Watch the monologue below. Catherine Garcia
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?
The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate branding
In the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play