The trio began Sunday's star-studded awards show in style.
After forgoing a host for the past few ceremonies, this year's Oscars got a triple dose of comedic talent with hosts Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall. The trio took the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood to kick off the star-studded awards show in style.
As the ladies took to the stage -- following Beyonce's larger-than-life performance of "Be Alive" -- they got a brief intro from DJ Khaled who amped up the energy in the room and got everyone in the mood for the the hosts' monologue.
"This year, the Academy hired three women to host," Schumer shared, "because it's cheaper than hiring one man."
The trio also addressed the Oscars' decision to not broadcast a number of the more technical awards.
"As many of you know, a decision was made to present some behind-the-scenes awards in the first hour," Schumer shared.
"It was a controversial and difficult decision but I think we've moved on," Sykes said, as the lighting onstage flickered and buzzed before almost going out. "Uh-oh, wait a minute, we're all union here!"
They also used the platform to make some funny political jabs, and as Sykes introduced the evening, she shared, "We're going to have a great night tonight. And for you people in Florida, we're going to have a gay night!"
Then all three host danced and repeatedly said gay -- a direct challenge to the controversial "Don't Say Gay" bill the Florida State Senate recently passed.
The monologue was brief but memorable and allowed fans to get into the rhythm of each host, who are expected to divide up hosting duties throughout the night.
Schumer was the first to take the stage and put her sharp wit to good use, lampooning the nominated films and celebs.
"Aaron Sorkin, a genius. Truly, right? I mean, the innovation to make a movie about Lucille Ball without even a moment that's funny," Schumer quipped. "If you're Aaron Sorkin, how do you make a movie about the most iconic female comedian and not one laugh, it's brilliant! It's like making a biopic about Michael Jordan and just showing the bus trips between games. Amazing!"
She also poked fun at King Richard, joking, "After years of Hollywood ignoring women's stories, this year we finally got a movie about the incredible Williams sisters'... dad."
Later, Hall took to the stage for one of the night's funniest bits, which began with the actress coming out with "a bit of bad news."
As you know, everyone here has been tested for COVID, but unfortunately some of the test results got lost. So, before we go on with the show, we just have to do some quick emergency testing backstage," she began. Come up if you hear your name, and I'm going to start with Bradley cooper, Timothee Chalamet, Tyler Perry, Simu Liu and -- wait, Javier Bardem! Oh wait, you're still with Penelope? No, no, your test is fine. It says that you're married - I mean negative!"
"And I see we've got another bad boy on our list. That is Jacob Elordi," She added, as the handsome movie stars took to the stage for their "testing" routine. "I've seen Euphoria. And yes, you are legal. I'm sorry, I mean you are positive! So you're going to need a deep PCR test."
"No, no, I don't want any of you all to worry. It's going to be a typical quick COVID test. You'll just come backstage. You'll take off your mask, your clothes, then I'll swab the back of your mouth -- with my tongue, and do some other freaky stuff, which I will record for academy protocol," she said, as the crowd laughed. "Really, this isn't up to me. The truth is we're still in a pandemic."
Ahead of the big show, Hall and Sykes spoke with reporters at a press conference on Thursday -- alongside producer Will Packer -- and the pair teased what fans could expect from the three hosts.
"What’s been fun is being able to collaborate and create something together that shows what we each do differently,” Hall shared. “We really want to make the night so celebratory.”
The three hosts plan to open and close the show as a trio, and said that they will take the stage in different combinations throughout the night -- sometimes solo, sometimes as a duo or group, or sometimes, Sykes joked, "we'll all be drunk, so, no one [will be up there]."
The theme of this year's ceremony is "Movie Lovers Unite," and among the big laughs and star-studded moments, the Oscars production team said they hope the 2022 Oscars get to celebrate the way movies can unite us. This will include the first live performance of the Encanto earworm "We Don't Talk About Bruno," a tribute to The Godfather's 50th anniversary and a celebration of 60 years of James Bond, among other memorable moments.
Meanwhile, Hall previously spoke with ET and admitted that she was equal parts excited and nervous to take the stage alongside her fellow co-hosts and comedy icons.
"I think it's exciting, like, it's Women's History Month, it's quite historic, like all of us together," Hall told ET earlier this month. "I'm kind of excited and nervous and everything! But I think it's gonna be a fun night."
The 2022 Oscars air live on Sunday, March 27 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC. In the meantime, stay tuned to ETonline.com for complete Oscars coverage.
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