There were no shortage of jokes about Sunday's wild, surprising Oscars ceremony.
Following Sunday's shocking turn of events at the 2022 Oscars, Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in the face is all anyone was talking about on social media, and proved to be rich comedic fodder for late-night talk show hosts.
One host who had particular insight into how wild the night must have truly been was Jimmy Kimmel -- who famously hosted the Oscars ceremony in 2017, during which the wrong Best Picture winner was announced, with presenters mistakenly naming La La Land instead of the real winner, Moonlight.
"I'm a little bummed because now I've hosted only the second craziest Oscars of all time! I only had three years to enjoy that," Kimmel quipped during his opening monologue.
"A lot of my friends have been texting me asking what I would have done if I was host. I would have run!" Kimmel joked. "As soon as I saw Will Smith get out of his seat I would have been half-way to the Wetzel's Pretzels, enjoying the samples in front of the store."
Here's a look at some of the best jokes TV's late-night talk show hosts had to poke fun at the historically awkward Oscars altercation.
Jimmy Kimmel
"It was so shocking, the only thing I can really compare it to is when Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ears," Kimmel joked, adding, "Even Kanye was like, 'You went on stage and did what at an awards show?"
Kimmel later quipped, "This was the Hollywood version of your drunk uncle starting a fight, ruining the wedding and then standing up and giving a long toast to the bride and groom."
The Jimmy Kimmel Live host did, however, have a great idea for how true reconciliation can be found: "For me, there's only one more step to make this right: the Comedy Central Roast of Will Smith hosted by Chris Rock."
Jimmy Fallon
The Tonight Show host started his monologue addressing the Oscars elephant in the room, sharing, "America may be divided, but it was kind of nice for all of us to come together and all say, 'Holy crap!' at the same time."
"Of course I have to address the big moment everyone is talking about, and that is Questlove earning the Oscar for Best Documentary!" Fallon said, excitedly cheering on his friend and bandleader's well-deserved Academy Award victory. "Quest told me he's not gonna let it go to his head. Well, actually his assistant's assistant told me, I couldn't get ahold of Quest, but he's gonna be our guest on the show tonight!"
Fallon added of the Smith incident, "Do you remember a few years ago when the Oscars literally announced the wrong winner for Best Picture? Turns out that was child's play!"
"You know it was a strange awards show when it ends with a statement from the LAPD," Fallon joked, referring to the actual statement regarding the altercation released by police shortly after Sunday's broadcast.
Stephen Colbert
"It is Monday, unless you're Chris Rock, because I'm pretty sure he got slapped into next week," Colbert said, opening his monologue right after walking out onto his stage.
After playing a clip of the slap, Colbert joked, "That is the worst thing Will Smith has ever done! Wait, I forgot about Wild Wild West. He's not here, is he?"
"I'm kidding, obviously," Colbert added. "The worst thing he's ever done is Gemini Man."
The Late Show host said the incident is "going to go down in Oscar history as one of the most chaotic moments of all time," but that it did "prove one thing: Chris Rock can take a punch!"
"I mean, we're the same age, he's 57 years old and a comedian. And he just shakes it off with one step," Colbert shared. "Will Smith trained for months to play Muhammad Ali! I have met Will Smith... he's got a hand like a flank steak."
"However you feel about celebrity on celebrity violence, apparently we love it. Because the Oscars ratings show a 56 percent improvement," Colbert said. "So get ready for next year's 95th Academy Awards: Oscar Slaptacular Death Match! Five nominees enter, one exits!"
James Corden
"If you haven't seen it, I mean you have, you have, you've seen it," Corden quipped of the moment during his monologue. "I mean, the whole incident threw me off in a huge way, also completely ruined my chances in the Oscar pool. I had Dame Judi Dench smacking Woody Harrelson."
He went on to praise Rock, saying, "Seriously though, I applaud Chris Rock for recovering, keeping the show moving. It was an incredibly dignified response. I'll say this, Will Smith can't take a joke, Chris Rock can take a punch. A steel jaw, unbelievable!"
Seth Meyers
Starting off his show, Meyers quipped, "The 94th Academy Awards were held last night and featured the first live performance of 'We Don't Talk About Bruno,' from the Disney musical Encanto, followed by an unbelievable live performance of 'We Don't Talk About Jada.' Remember 24 hours ago when we thought Timothee Chalamet's sternum was the craziest thing we'd see all night?"
The comedian continued saying, "We'll have more on this story in a little bit, but first let me do the rest of the monologue, which is kind of terrifying now that I know you can get slapped for doing a bad joke."
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