Oscars Host Jimmy Kimmel Reacts to Noms, Betting on Awards Show: “They’re Encouraging Someone With a Gambling Problem to Slap Me”

The 2023 Oscar nominations were a hot topic on the late-night talk shows on Tuesday night, with Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, James Corden and Daily Show guest host Wanda Sykes all joking about this year’s big nominees and snubs.

Kimmel, who’s also hosting the Oscars on March 12, highlighted some of the bets being made ahead of the ceremony, including on who could win certain categories and, perhaps in light of last year’s infamous slap, whether or not a host or presenter will be hit during the show.

Noting that you could bet $100 on yes and win $1,200, Kimmel said it “seems like they’re encouraging someone with a gambling problem to slap me.”

As one of last year’s Oscar hosts, Sykes also shared her expert perspective, and referenced the slap, during her monologue as guest host of The Daily Show.

Sykes joked, “If you’re wondering how they picked the nominees this year, they basically just went, ‘Hmm, let’s see, who’s not going to slap nobody?’”

Kimmel also picked up on one of the most memorable moments from the nominations announcement: When Riz Ahmed read the name of best animated short nominee My Year of Dicks and the crowd laughed.

Saying he’d never heard of the film, Kimmel joked, “I went to look up ‘My Year of Dicks,’ and now my computer won’t turn on.”

Both Kimmel and Sykes also highlighted nominee Triangle of Sadness, with Kimmel joking that’s what he “always thought was a slice of Papa John’s pizza,” and Sykes quipping that the film is “what Mike Pence calls a vagina.”

In all seriousness, though, Sykes said she was happy to see Triangle of Sadness nominated, as she’s fan of one of the film’s stars, Woody Harrelson.

Sykes also highlighted some of the good news from the nominations: Michelle Yeoh being the first best actress nominee to identify as Asian. And the bad news, Sykes said, was that no women were nominated for best director.

“They gave it to Jane Campion last year,” Sykes said. “So I guess this year they thought, ‘Eh, that should hold you broads for the next 50 years.’”

Kimmel, Fallon and Corden also highlighted some of the noteworthy snubs.

Fallon noted that Taylor Swift wasn’t nominated for best original song, joking, “On the bright side, the album Taylor writes about being snubbed at the Oscars will probably win all of the Grammys.”

And after James Cameron failed to get a best director nod for Avatar: The Way of Water, Kimmel joked that was payback for the 3D film’s long running time: “That’s what you get for making us put on those dumb glasses for four hours.”

Tom Cruise, Kimmel noted, wasn’t nominated for best actor for his performance in Top Gun: Maverick.

“I know, he saved the whole Navy from being destroyed and nothing for him,” the ABC host joked. “They said, ‘Tom was so upset today he didn’t jump out a window.’”

Corden meanwhile highlighted that Cruise was nominated for best picture as a producer on the Top Gun sequel.

“I want him to win it so much and he should accept it by skydiving from 30,000 feet onto the stage,” Corden said of Cruise. “I know there’s a roof. He’ll find a way.”