Amy Schumer has opened up about the severe reaction to her Oscars 2022 hosting stint – revealing she got death threats over one particular joke.
The Trainwreck actress, 40, presented last month’s ceremony at the Dolby Theatre with Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, .
Speaking about her time on stage during an appearance on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show, she explained that a quip about Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons didn’t go down well with viewers,
‘I did a bit with Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons. That was completely orchestrated beforehand,’ she said.
‘The joke was that I was pretending I thought she was a seat filler. And we all worked that out together. I got death threats.’
Clarifying that she was being serious about the reception, Amy said that the threats were so extreme that the Secret Service got in touch at one point.
‘They were so bad the secret service reached out to me. I was like, “I think you have the wrong number. It’s Amy, not Will [Smith],’” she said, in reference to the King Richard actor slapping Chris Rock on stage.
During the Academy Awards, held on March 27, Amy was wandering around the star-studded crowd when she approached Kirsten and Jesse, who were seated together.
Explaining the role of a ‘seat filler’ at ceremonies, she gestured towards Kirsten, quipping: ‘Here’s a seat filler… Honey, do you want to go to the bathroom?’
The presenter then pulled the Bring It On actress up, before taking her seat and questioning Jesse about his stint in Power of the Dog – which he was nominated for on the night.
‘You know, that was my wife, Amy,’ he said, referring to his partner.
Amy replied: ‘You’re married to that seat filler? Oh, that’s weird.’
The comedian also came under fire amid claims that she was going to make a ‘banned’ joke on Alec Baldwin’s Rust shooting – something she has since denied.
According to reports, it was alleged that Amy was planning a quip regarding the incident that led to Halyna Hutchins’ death, and had revealed ‘the joke she wasn’t allowed to say on TV’ while appearing on stage during the Aces of Comedy series.
It is claimed that she reportedly referred to the ordeal, and then she 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.’
Vanity Fair reported that she then added: ‘I wasn’t allowed to say any of that [at the Oscars], but you can just come up and [slap] someone.’
Addressing the claims on Instagram, .
Alongside a screenshot of an article mistakenly stating she had purchased a $12.5million home in Montecito, Amy added: ‘This is not true.
‘I also was never going to say the Alec Baldwin joke at the Oscar’s. But I am saying anything I want at my live shows. Hope you come out [sic].’
