Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel took a swipe at the Golden Globes in a new interview with Rolling Stone — and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association hit back.
Kimmel, 55, was asked about the “no-holds-barred roast” approach to hosting award shows — popularized by Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes — and if it’s “representative of a growing hostility toward celebrity.”
“I think there’s always been hostility toward celebrities,” Kimmel declared in the conversation published Wednesday.
“First of all, the Golden Globes is not a real awards show. Let’s be honest. I don’t think any of them are necessarily valid, but if there is one that is valid, it’s the Oscars and the ones where you’re voted on by your peers, like the SAG Awards, the Writer’s Guild Awards, and the Director’s Guild Awards.”
He continued: “But the Globes are some foreign bike messengers who realized they’d get some free dinners if they decided to form this organization. I don’t know why it took so long for the world to figure that out! I think perhaps the world didn’t want to figure that out. We also know that if you have a trophy made, somebody’s gonna go up to take it.”
Jimmy Kimmel, 55, will host the Oscars on Sunday for the third time. AFP via Getty Images“Trophies are like catnip for celebrities. We want them,” Kimmel claimed to Rolling Stone. “I’m not sure why we want them! Art as a competition doesn’t seem right and doesn’t seem in the spirit of any of it, but what Ricky did was largely appropriate for the awards he was handing out, which were nonsense.”
In a statement Wednesday to The Post, a spokesperson for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which oversees the Golden Globes, called Kimmel’s remarks “beneath the dignity of someone who has been chosen to host a show as important as the Academy Awards.”
“We are disappointed that Mr. Kimmel has decided to denigrate the contributions made by a diverse group of international entertainment journalists who represent 62 countries,” the statement read.
“The Golden Globes’ voting body is 52% female and 51.8% racially and ethnically diverse, a singular achievement in Hollywood today. Millions of fans around the world support the Golden Globes, which have highlighted the best in film and television for 80 years.”
Ricky Gervais speaks onstage during the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 5, 2020. 2020 NBCUniversal Media, LLC viaThe Post has contacted reps for Kimmel, Gervais and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which presents the Oscars.
The HFPA was founded in 1943 by a group of LA-based entertainment journalists. Members and non-member voters can select the Golden Globe nominees and winners.
NBC decided not to broadcast the 2022 Golden Globes amid criticism the HFPA lacked diversity.
The telecast returned this year after the HFPA addressed concerns by adding 103 new voters. This year’s Golden Globes aired in January — to historically low ratings.
Kimmel claims he will do his part on Sunday to avoid an incident similar to last year’s slap by Will Smith. Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty ImagesMeanwhile, some 9,500 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — ranging from cinematographers to writers to makeup artists and hairstylists — are eligible to cast a ballot to determine Oscar winners.
Sunday will be Kimmel’s third time hosting the Oscars. Earlier this week, he promised to “beat the s- -t” out of anyone who attempts a Will Smith-inspired slap — unless that person is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The Oscars are set to air Sunday, March 12, at 8 p.m. EST.
