Trump Mocks Oscar Failure With Brutal Tweet
President Donald Trump poked fun at the Oscars turning in its lowest ratings in history on Tuesday, saying the problem is there are no “Stars anymore.”
Sunday night’s Academy Awards program, hosted by frequent Trump critic Jimmy Kimmel, earned an 18.9 rating (percentage of those watching television tuning in) with 26.5 million viewers, versus 2017, when it had a 22.4 rating and 32.9 million people watching.
The total number of viewers dropped 19 percent from last year, and far eclipsed the previous all-time low of 31.8 million viewers in 2008, Deadline reported.
“Lowest rated Oscars in HISTORY,” Trump tweeted. “Problem is, we don’t have Stars anymore – except your President (just kidding, of course)!”
Whether Kimmel and Hollywood’s reputation for getting too political in the age of Trump played a role in the ratings drop-off is not clear.
For those anticipating the comedian’s political commentary, Kimmel did not disappoint, taking swipes at Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
The late-night talk show host pointed out that actress Lupita Nyong’o (“Black Panther,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” and “12 Years a Slave”) was born in Mexico and raised in Kenya and then added, “Let the tweet storm from the president’s toilet begin!”
Kimmel later proclaimed, “We don’t make films like ‘Call Me By Your Name’ (about an older man having sexual relations with a 17-year-old boy) to make money. We make them to upset Mike Pence.”
During the past year, Kimmel has targeted Republicans multiple times in opening monologues on his late night program, taking aim at their efforts to repeal Obamacare. More recently, he has focused on the issue of gun control.
After the Parkland shooting last month, Kimmel accused Trump of doing “worse than nothing” and stating he’s “obviously mentally ill” based on his views of the Second Amendment.
As reported by The Western Journal, former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly was happy to report he was among those who did not watch the Oscars this year.
He tweeted on Monday, “As we predicted the Oscar telecast was a ratings bomb. America has had enough of Hollywood posturing.”
“Was very happy not to watch the Oscar show last night because phonies on parade has zero appeal for me,” he said in an earlier tweet.
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