Amy Schumer Clears the Air About the Controversial Alec Baldwin Joke She Was Supposedly Banned From Making
Amy Schumer is a comedian well-known for her habit of making biting social commentary. Schumer, who rose to fame for her work in the Comedy Central sketch series Inside Amy Schumer, has received multiple awards and nominations.
Recently, Schumer acted as a co-host for the Academy Awards, alongside Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall. And while many of her jokes were expertly-timed swats at the nominees and stars in attendance, in the days after the ceremony, Schumer went on the record to say there was one particularly biting joke she was advised not to make.
Amy Schumer recently co-hosted the Academy Awards
Every year, The Academy chooses a comedian or master of ceremonies to host the Oscars. While traditionally, hosts have done the job solo, recent years have seen the Academy select hosting pairs, such as the infamous pairing of Anne Hathaway and James Franco in 2011. This year, showrunners selected three top-tier comedians to handle hosting duties at the Oscars: Schumer, Sykes, and Hall.
The three comedians did a masterful job of presenting the nominees and winners, with media outlets praising the jokes and the stage presence of the three high-profile women. Vogue even gave Schumer a special shout-out for helping to diffuse the tension in the room after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. “Schumer’s response was low-key enough to voice the “WTF?” that was going through so many of our minds without pouring fuel on the fire,” the publication noted.
Amy Schumer clears the air
Schumer made a lot of clever quips during her moments onstage, even taking a jab at Leonardo DiCaprio’s propensity for dating much younger women. However, there’s one joke that was on the docket that Schumer ended up not making.
The Hollywood Reporter reported Schumer was given a list of “banned” jokes from her lawyer prior to the ceremony. Insider reported Schumer ran through these jokes in front of a live crowd well before taking the stage at the Oscars.
“I want to preface these Oscar jokes by saying that my lawyer said not to say these. Don’t tell anybody, and don’t get mad at me,” Schumer reportedly said. “‘Don’t Look Up’ is the name of a movie? More like don’t look down the barrel of Alec Baldwin’s shotgun. I wasn’t allowed to say any of that, but you can just come up and (clock) someone.”
Schumer has since clarified the situation behind the joke in an Instagram post debunking a Daily Mail report. “I also was never going to say the Alec Baldwin joke at the Oscar’s [sic]. But I am saying anything I want at my live shows,” she wrote. “Hope you come out.”
Alec Baldwin is still in the hot seat due to the tragic ‘Rust’ incident
The incident that Schumer’s joke referred to is still a controversial one in the film community. In October 2021, actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that he didn’t realize contained live ammo. The live round killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.
In the wake of the incident, Baldwin faced scrutiny from media outlets and fans. In early 2022, Baldwin was sued by the family of Hutchins for “recklessly” shooting the director.
Baldwin consistently expressed the whole thing was a tragic accident, noting he had no idea the gun contained a live round. In a Twitter statement released not long after Hutchins’ death, Baldwin said that he was in shock. “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,” Baldwin wrote.
He also noted that he was fully cooperating with the police to investigate the incident. For now, Baldwin is still being scrutinized for his words and actions but it seems as though the matter is still too sensitive to joke about.
