So far this awards season, the #MeToo movement has drawn almost as much attention as the nominees. Seas of black clothing and “Time’s Up” pins have dominated red carpets, and hosts have given shoutouts from the stage.
On Thursday, the internet found itself in a tizzy when many news outlets reported, based on an ABC News interview, that Jimmy Kimmel, host of this year’s Oscars, would not do that.
But, as is often the case on the internet, those reports were misleading.
Asked explicitly by a Variety interviewer whether he would discuss #MeToo, Kimmel said, “It’ll be a part of the show.” And when Rebecca Keegan of Vanity Fair asked if he planned to include “questions or bits that address Time’s Up,” he responded unequivocally, “I do, yes.”
The confusion stemmed from an ABC News interview broadcast Thursday, in which Kimmel said: “This show is not about reliving people’s sexual assaults — it’s an awards show for people who have been dreaming about maybe winning an Oscar for their whole lives. And the last thing I want to do is ruin that for someone who is, you know, nominated for, you know, best leading actress or best supporting or best director or cinematographer or whatever, by making it unpleasant.”
He added that he could not “stop any bad behavior with my jokes.”
Numerous publications, from HuffPost to Glamour, took that to mean Kimmel would not discuss #MeToo at all. Among the most shared articles was Glamour’s, which was headlined “Jimmy Kimmel Won’t Mention the #MeToo or Time’s Up Movements While Hosting the Oscars.”
Keegan, the Vanity Fair reporter, tweeted that the Glamour article was “inaccurate and designed to get your rage clicks.”
Kimmel, the host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on ABC, has not shied from hot-button topics in the past. Over the past year in particular, he has spoken passionately on his own show about issues like health care and gun control.
In an emotional monologue in May, he described his newborn son’s emergency heart surgery and said, “No parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their child’s life.” In October, he wept as he implored lawmakers to confront gun violence. And last week, he went fiercely after conspiracy theorists who claimed that the survivors of the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, were actors.
“If the answer is ‘Yes, I do believe that,’ I have some bad news for you: You’re crazy,” he said. “You’re a crazy person. Your brain is not functioning, and I’m worried about you.”
In fact, in the same ABC News interview from which other reporters drew inaccurate conclusions, Kimmel said it was “almost necessary now” for comedians like himself to address serious issues.
The executives behind the Academy Awards said last week that they wanted to keep the event focused on the films and artists being honored. Channing Dungey, ABC’s president of entertainment, said of #MeToo that she “would love for every award recipient to not feel like they have to acknowledge it independently.”
But none of those executives suggested that the ceremony avoid the subject entirely.
And regardless of what Kimmel does or does not say, the subject of sexual misconduct in Hollywood is virtually certain to be a major topic of discussion on the floor of the Dolby Theater. At the Golden Globes in January, many attendees wore black in an arena normally dominated by more colorful fashion statements. And at the Grammys three weeks later, white roses were the symbol of solidarity.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.