Here’s Emma Stone’s Response to Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘Poor Things’ Joke at The 2024 Oscars

As is customary at the Academy Awards, each ‘Best Picture’ nominee receives a montage during the ceremony. However, after the clip for ‘Poor Things’ aired, host Jimmy Kimmel made a joke that seemed to elicit a less-than-enthusiastic reaction from lead actress Emma Stone.

Kimmel quipped, “Those were all the parts of ‘Poor Things’ that we’re allowed to show on TV,” seemingly alluding to the uninhibited scenes depicting Stone’s character, Bella Baxter, engaging in explicit content throughout the Oscar-winning film.

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In response, the 35-year-old actress turned to her husband, Dave McCary, rolled her eyes, shook her head slightly, and reportedly muttered a few words. While online viewers speculated that she might have said “Oh my god,” Stone’s representatives have yet to respond to a request for comment.

Stone had previously spoken about the importance of the explicit content in her character’s journey, stating in a January interview with BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, “[The s*x] is obviously a huge part of her experience and her growth, as it is, I think, for most people in life. So for the camera to sort of shy away from that, or to say like, ‘Okay, well, we’ll just cut all of this out because our society functions in a particular way’ … it felt like a lack of being honest about who Bella is.”

Director Yorgos Lanthimos, speaking during the New York Film Festival in September, explained the decision not to shy away from the film’s sexual content, stating, “It was a very important part of her journey. We felt that we shouldn’t shy away from it. It would feel very disingenuous to tell this story about this character who is so free and so open, and then be prude about the sexual aspect of it.”

Despite the awkward moment, ‘Poor Things’ emerged as a major winner on Oscar night, with Stone securing ‘Best Actress’ and the film receiving additional Academy Awards for ‘Best Makeup and Hairstyling,’ ‘Best Costume Design’ and ‘Best Production Design.’

– Farheen Ali