Jimmy Kimmel reveals the jokes that were too 'hard' for the Oscars

Jimmy Kimmel made jokes about Avatar, Babylon and even Malala Yousafzai while hosting the Oscars on Sunday (March 14), but there were plenty of gags that were deemed too "hard" to air.

Will Smith, of course, provided the most shocking moment in Oscars history last year and while Kimmel referenced the incident where he slapped Chris Rock, there were many jokes about the 2022 ceremony that were left on the cutting room floor.

Producer of the show Molly McNearney, who is also married to Kimmel, spoke about the ceremony and revealed that it was supposed to feature more jokes about Smith originally.

McNearney spoke to Variety about putting the show together, and said that plenty of jokes about Smith were removed because organisers “didn’t want to make this year all about last year”.

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“I cannot tell you how many Will Smith jokes we had that then we got rid of,” McNearney said. “We think that only the best for that room made it.

Kimmel and McNearney at the 2023 Oscars ceremonyAmy Sussman/Getty Images

“There were certainly some that went harder, but we didn’t think that was our place to do that. That should be Chris Rock, not us.”

The producer went on to say: “But we really liked the idea of making fun of the reaction to it last year. I think we’re all still in a bit of shock of how that went down and how after watching that violence everyone had to then sit through an acceptance speech.”

Despite the worries of the producers, Smith slapping Rock was referenced during Kimmel’s opening monologue.

Kimmel joked: “We want you to have fun, feel safe and, most importantly, we want me to feel safe. So, we have strict policies in place.

“If anyone in this theatre commits an act of violence, at any point, you will be awarded the award for Best Actor, and permitted to give a 19-minute speech.”

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