TV-MOVIES
The Regina Hall Oscars Joke That Viewers Think Went Too Far
By CAROLYN JENKINS AND LEXI HEINITZ
Jokes are never a sure thing for the Oscars, and some hosts have made controversial choices in recent years. This year wasn't any different, and some viewers had a strong reaction to an early sketch: Regina Hall's bit about COVID-19 tests.
Hall begins the joke by inviting Bradley Cooper, Timothée Chalamet, Tyler Perry, and Simu Liu onstage for "quick emergency testing." She explains that the men will have to remove their masks and clothes so she can "swab the back of your mouth with my tongue" and "some other freaky stuff."
Some felt that joking about COVID-19 was in bad taste, but that wasn't the only aspect of the joke viewers were unhappy with. They were also uncomfortable with Hall's "objectification" of the actors, which culminated with the host giving Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa a "COVID pat down" before leaving the stage.
One Twitter user pointed out the hypocritical nature of the joke by tweeting, “if a man did that exact thing there wouldn't be laughter.” Others called it a "vile mess" and said it was inappropriate that Hall joked about "Euphoria" star Jacob Elordi being "legal."