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When co-hosting the 2022 Oscars, Amy Schumer wasn’t afraid to take aim with her jokes, particularly ones directed at Leonardo DiCaprio, King Richard and Kirsten Dunst. However, Schumer confirmed that the targets of her jokes were aware of what was to come and approved them ahead of time.
During an interview on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show, Schumer explained that she reached out to those she was set to make a joke about including DiCaprio, Serena and Venus Williams, and Will Smith to make sure they were comfortable with them.
“I did reach out to people I was going to joke about before and make sure it was OK with them because I’ve been burned too many times,” she said, adding that she “didn’t want the camera to cut to somebody looking sad.”
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“I told the Williams sisters, I told Will, I told Leo,” she said, confirming that they were all fine with the jokes.
During her monologue, Schumer poked fun at DiCaprio’s dating life while mentioning Don’t Look Up. “Leonardo DiCaprio, what can I even say about him? He’s done so much to fight climate change and leave behind a cleaner, greener planet for his girlfriends. Because he’s older, and they’re younger. OK, you get it,” she quipped.
Then when discussing King Richard, Schumer joked, “After years of Hollywood ignoring women’s stories, this year we finally got a movie about the incredible Williams sisters’ dad.”
Later on in the show, Schumer visited Jesse Plemons in the audience while pretending not to recognize Dunst and calling her a seat filler, leaving Plemons to note that she was his wife. The bit, Schumer said, was “completely orchestrated.”
“We talked beforehand … we all worked that out together,” she told Stern.
Despite Plemons and Dunst being in on the joke, Schumer revealed that she received death threats as a result. When asked why she would get death threats, Schumer said she would be told, “Who do you think you are to disrespect Kirsten Dunst like that?” Dunst has since clarified on social media that she was in on the joke, with Schumer calling her and Plemons “the coolest.”
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