
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel, hosting the Oscars for a third time, led a back-to-basics show on Sunday that celebrated a moviegoing rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic while avoiding - and making light of - the kind of ugly outburst that marred the 2022 telecast.
Kimmel opened the 95th Academy Awards with a monologue that jokingly admonished the stars filling the Dolby Theatre to behave, a year after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage but was allowed to remain in the venue to accept the award for best actor minutes later.