As the creator of rude movie Ted, the Academy would surely have known what they were letting themselves in for.
An untested quantity in the role of host of a major awards show, writer and creator of non-PG animated TV show Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane was always going to be a risky choice.
And true to form MacFarlane, 39, incurred the wrath of viewers during his joke stuffed monologue after he made an indirect reference to Skyfall singer Adele's weight.
He said: 'Rex Reed will be out here to review Adele’s performance of 'Skyfall'.
Reed is the film critic who called actress Melissa McCarthy ' a female hippo' during his scathing review of her latest film The Identity Thief.
Scroll down for video...
All polls
The funnyman left no facet of Hollywood untouched by his barbs as he
hosted the 85th annual Academy Awards, as he joked about
women, domestic violence, ageism, weight and the 'hairy' Kardashians.
MacFarlane began the broadcast looking totally relaxed: Alone on the stage, he delivered a series of one-liners, many of which drew ire from critics and the internet community.
Starting off with a reference to the Oscar-nominated film Lincoln, MacFarlane pondered about Daniel Day Lewis' devotion to character, saying: 'I would argue the actor who really got inside Lincoln's head was John Wilkes Booth.'
Page Six scoffed at the aside, which got a cold audience reaction, by calling it 'flat'.
While going through his list
of perfunctory celebrity bashing jokes he also managed to make an
inappropriate sexual joke about nine-year-old nominee Quvenzhane Wallis
and George Clooney.
'To give you an idea of how young she is, it'll be 16 years until she's too old for Clooney,' he said.
In his intro to presenters Jennifer Aniston and Channing Tatum, he accused the Friends star of having a dubious past.
'Of our next two presenters, at least one is honest about being a former exotic dancer. Please welcome Channing Tatum and Jennifer Aniston,' he quipped.
New York magazine's Maureen O' Connor asked: 'Were the Oscars always this sexist, or are we spoiled by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's Golden Globes?'
While online magazine Slate called MacFarlane's stream of consciousness: 'A defensive anxiety about the ascendant power of women.'
Twitter user Laura Hudson was among the thousands on the micro blogging site that found it hard to swallow his humour.
'I mean this Oscars ceremony also featured Jennifer Aniston getting called a stripper, a domestic violence joke,' she wrote.
Hudson was referring to MacFarlane's most controversial barb. As he introduced Quentin Tarantino's violent revenge western Django Unchained he described it as, 'the story of a man fighting to get back his woman, who's been subjected to unthinkable violence - or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie.'
The reference to Brown's 2009 assault of Rihanna drew gasps from the audience in Hollywood's Dolby Theatre.
Rihanna and Brown have since been reunited, and recently attended the 2013 Grammy Awards together.
Huffington Post criticised the comedian for taking a dig at the sensitive topic: 'Domestic violence is not like dating, Seth.'
MacFarlane later targeted snubbed actor/director Ben Affleck saying: 'The film's director is unknown to the Academy.'
And again later in the program referring to Affleck's bearded appearance in the movie he quipped: 'The first time I saw [Affleck] with all that dark facial hair, I thought, "My God, the Kardashians have made the jump to film,": and even he had to admit afterward he wasn't sure about the joke.
The energy in the room cooled as the crowd laughed nervously, forcing him to reply with an assurance that the joke was 'as bad as it gets, if it makes you feel better.'
'Oh no, that's what we were afraid he would do,' he said, mimicking the audience's response.
He followed it up with another Tarantino aimed jibe - the writer/director won the award for Best Screenplay on the night.
Talking about the film's controversial overuse of the n-word, Seth drew silence from the crowd when he joked that the screenplay was 'loosely based on Mel Gibson's voicemails.'
MacFarlane's sock-puppet reenactment of Flight in which he wore a brown sock to represent Denzel Washington, also raised eyebrows from the conservative crowd.
'You're a white guy in 2013,' said Shatner to MacFarlane. 'You can't wear black hand.'
TODAY wrote: 'White guys doing racial humor, no matter how gentle, still makes everyone uncomfortable.'
Website Gawker slammed the first time host as 'unfunny, tired, self-centered and boring, but also incredibly sexist, homophobic and racist.'
But not everybody disliked MacFarlane's presenting style.
'Loving that MacFarlane is attempting to preempt his #Oscars criticism,' Vanity Fair posted on their Twitter account Sunday.
The magazine was referring to William Shatner apparently predicting MacFarlane's Oscar fail, telling him: 'The show's a disaster. Your jokes are tasteless and inappropriate and everyone ends up hating you.'
He then showed Seth a copy of a newspaper headline from the day after the awards that read 'Seth MacFarlane Worst Oscar host ever.'
With that, Shatner played for Seth a pre-taped production number featuring the comedian singing and dancing to a crude tune titled 'We Saw Your Boobs.'
The melody showcased Seth's singing prowess as he was backed by an all men's choir.
The song, which oft repeated the titular phrase, called out actresses in the audience that have exposed their chest in some of their most famous roles.
Next, Charlize Theron bowed her head low and avoided the camera at the mention of her breast-exposing performance in Monster.
But the always jubilant Jennifer Lawrence relished at the nod, giving a glad hands up to the cameras.
Though it was clear the women were looped into the pre-recorded piece, the reaction from the internet was mixed.
And
in a matter of moments, #WeSawYourBoobs became a popular hashtag on
Twitter and Seth McFarlane was one of the trending topics on the
micro-blogging site.
Television host Piers Morgan was quick to show his support for the comedian.
'This is unbelievably, unacceptably, gob-smackingly, hilariously inappropriate. Keep going. @SethMacFarlane #WeSawYourBoobs'
People Magazine also threw in some praise: 'If you're hating on Seth, just remember: He's got Channing up there dancing.'
Russell Crowe tweeted: 'Congratulations @SethMacFarlane, you did great mate, handled it all with grace, #topjob (sic)'
And Steve Martin, who hosted the ceremony three times, in 2001, 2003, and 2010, tweeted: 'Seth MacFarlane was wonderful and who knew? I did. But then, I wrote "Cruel Shoes".'
The Office actor Rainn Wilson was also a fan of the 39-year-old star's presenting style, as were Kristin Chenoweth - who performed a musical number, Here's to the Losers, to close the show.
Rainn wrote: 'Truly, @SethMacFarlane did a great job. Funny, self-deprecating and surprisingly fresh. (sic)'
An untested quantity in the role of host of a major awards show, writer and creator of non-PG animated TV show Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane was always going to be a risky choice.
And true to form MacFarlane, 39, incurred the wrath of viewers during his joke stuffed monologue after he made an indirect reference to Skyfall singer Adele's weight.
He said: 'Rex Reed will be out here to review Adele’s performance of 'Skyfall'.
Reed is the film critic who called actress Melissa McCarthy ' a female hippo' during his scathing review of her latest film The Identity Thief.
Scroll down for video...
Wild humour: Seth MacFarlane opened the 85th annual Academy Awards with a controversial tune titled 'We Saw Your Boobs'
Thinly veiled barb: Seth MacFarlane said film
critic Rex Reed would critique Adele's performance of Skyfall, Reed is
the critic who called Melissa McCarthy 'a female hippo'
Hitting the big time: Seth MacFarlane seen onstage during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles
TODAY'S POLL
MacFarlane began the broadcast looking totally relaxed: Alone on the stage, he delivered a series of one-liners, many of which drew ire from critics and the internet community.
Starting off with a reference to the Oscar-nominated film Lincoln, MacFarlane pondered about Daniel Day Lewis' devotion to character, saying: 'I would argue the actor who really got inside Lincoln's head was John Wilkes Booth.'
Musical theme: There were many musical breaks during the show, many of which Seth MacFarlane partook in
VIDEO Compilation of Seth MacFarlane's most inappropriate jokes...
His tale took a uncomfortable turn when he brought up the issue of slavery: 'Like, if you bumped into Don Cheadle on the studio lot, did you try to free him? How deep does your method go?'
Page Six scoffed at the aside, which got a cold audience reaction, by calling it 'flat'.
'To give you an idea of how young she is, it'll be 16 years until she's too old for Clooney,' he said.
Targets: Seth MacFarlane didn't hold back as he took potshots at Adele and Lincoln star Daniel Day-Lewis
Seth MacFarlane poked fun at the Denzel Washington movie Flight with a sock puppet sketch
... but was reprimanded by a furious Captain Kirk who told him: 'It's 2013, you can't do black hand any more!'
'Of our next two presenters, at least one is honest about being a former exotic dancer. Please welcome Channing Tatum and Jennifer Aniston,' he quipped.
New York magazine's Maureen O' Connor asked: 'Were the Oscars always this sexist, or are we spoiled by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's Golden Globes?'
While online magazine Slate called MacFarlane's stream of consciousness: 'A defensive anxiety about the ascendant power of women.'
VIDEO Seth Macfarlane jokes about Denzel Washington at the Oscars
Dubious past: Jennifer Aniston, left, and
Channing Tatum present an award during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre,
Seth MacFarlane joked that one of the pair had been honest about
previously being an exotic dancer
'I mean this Oscars ceremony also featured Jennifer Aniston getting called a stripper, a domestic violence joke,' she wrote.
Hudson was referring to MacFarlane's most controversial barb. As he introduced Quentin Tarantino's violent revenge western Django Unchained he described it as, 'the story of a man fighting to get back his woman, who's been subjected to unthinkable violence - or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie.'
Date movie: He later made an ill-advised link
between Django Unchained and domestic violence calling it Rihanna and
Chris Brown's 'date movie'
Rihanna and Brown have since been reunited, and recently attended the 2013 Grammy Awards together.
Huffington Post criticised the comedian for taking a dig at the sensitive topic: 'Domestic violence is not like dating, Seth.'
MacFarlane later targeted snubbed actor/director Ben Affleck saying: 'The film's director is unknown to the Academy.'
And again later in the program referring to Affleck's bearded appearance in the movie he quipped: 'The first time I saw [Affleck] with all that dark facial hair, I thought, "My God, the Kardashians have made the jump to film,": and even he had to admit afterward he wasn't sure about the joke.
The energy in the room cooled as the crowd laughed nervously, forcing him to reply with an assurance that the joke was 'as bad as it gets, if it makes you feel better.'
'Oh no, that's what we were afraid he would do,' he said, mimicking the audience's response.
He followed it up with another Tarantino aimed jibe - the writer/director won the award for Best Screenplay on the night.
Talking about the film's controversial overuse of the n-word, Seth drew silence from the crowd when he joked that the screenplay was 'loosely based on Mel Gibson's voicemails.'
When the cameras showed audience members in the
background of Seth MacFarlane's shot after the 'Boobs' song, Helen Hunt,
left, and Jessica Chastain and Kathryn Bigelow, right, did not appear
amused
He's got fans: Seth MacFarlane managed to draw laughs from the audience and even backstage with John Travolta
VIDEO So how was it for you? Seth MacFarlane speaks to Extra...
MacFarlane's sock-puppet reenactment of Flight in which he wore a brown sock to represent Denzel Washington, also raised eyebrows from the conservative crowd.
'You're a white guy in 2013,' said Shatner to MacFarlane. 'You can't wear black hand.'
TODAY wrote: 'White guys doing racial humor, no matter how gentle, still makes everyone uncomfortable.'
Website Gawker slammed the first time host as 'unfunny, tired, self-centered and boring, but also incredibly sexist, homophobic and racist.'
Family guy: Ron MacFarlane, father of Seth, his wife Xiao Xiang, Seth's sister Rachael MacFarlane and guest
'Loving that MacFarlane is attempting to preempt his #Oscars criticism,' Vanity Fair posted on their Twitter account Sunday.
The magazine was referring to William Shatner apparently predicting MacFarlane's Oscar fail, telling him: 'The show's a disaster. Your jokes are tasteless and inappropriate and everyone ends up hating you.'
He then showed Seth a copy of a newspaper headline from the day after the awards that read 'Seth MacFarlane Worst Oscar host ever.'
Back from the future: William Shatner, dressed as Captain Kirk, comes from the future to save the show
Ominous prediction: William shows Seth MacFarlane a title from a newspaper the next day
Playing innocent, Seth tried to defend himself and asked what he did wrong.With that, Shatner played for Seth a pre-taped production number featuring the comedian singing and dancing to a crude tune titled 'We Saw Your Boobs.'
The melody showcased Seth's singing prowess as he was backed by an all men's choir.
The song, which oft repeated the titular phrase, called out actresses in the audience that have exposed their chest in some of their most famous roles.
Stifled laughter: His song is met with mixed emotion
Playing along with the joke, Naomi Watts looked horrified when he mentioned her name.Next, Charlize Theron bowed her head low and avoided the camera at the mention of her breast-exposing performance in Monster.
But the always jubilant Jennifer Lawrence relished at the nod, giving a glad hands up to the cameras.
Though it was clear the women were looped into the pre-recorded piece, the reaction from the internet was mixed.
Not amuzed: Charlize Theron looked agitated in the pre-recorded bit when he mentioned her role in Monster
Horrified: Naomi Watt's face nearly went pale as she played along with the joke
Honourable mention: Jennifer Lawrence was also mentioned in the spoof, and she gave a thumbs up
Like a lead balloon: Seth MacFarlane incurred the wrath of viewers during his joke stuffed monologue
Did I say something? Seth MacFarlane shocked with his humour during the Oscars
Television host Piers Morgan was quick to show his support for the comedian.
'This is unbelievably, unacceptably, gob-smackingly, hilariously inappropriate. Keep going. @SethMacFarlane #WeSawYourBoobs'
People Magazine also threw in some praise: 'If you're hating on Seth, just remember: He's got Channing up there dancing.'
Some guests weren't sure how to react: Seth MacFarlane's boob gag didn't go down too well with viewers
Stage presence: He did a musical number with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Daniel Radcliff
And Steve Martin, who hosted the ceremony three times, in 2001, 2003, and 2010, tweeted: 'Seth MacFarlane was wonderful and who knew? I did. But then, I wrote "Cruel Shoes".'
The Office actor Rainn Wilson was also a fan of the 39-year-old star's presenting style, as were Kristin Chenoweth - who performed a musical number, Here's to the Losers, to close the show.
Rainn wrote: 'Truly, @SethMacFarlane did a great job. Funny, self-deprecating and surprisingly fresh. (sic)'
Dancing with the stars: Seth MacFarlane sang
Frank Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight as Chaning Tatum and Charlize
Theron took the stage
Stunning performance: Dustin Hoffman later told Charlize Theron she was a 'beautiful dancer'
Kristin tweeted: 'I had a blast tonight singing with @sethmacfarlane. He KILLED it! So good! (sic)'
On the other side of the fence, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was one of the most vocal critics of the performance.
'That song @SethMacFarlane did made me wish he just stuck to telling mildly funny jokes! #Oscars,' he wrote.
In an effort to change the course of history, he used the remainder of his 15 minutes to redeem himself, starting with a sensual dance by Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum to his rendition of Frank Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight.'
Not good enough, said Shatner, who then revealed a video clip where MacFarlane, costumed in a Flying Nun habit, hit on Oscar nominee Sally Field in the green room.
On the other side of the fence, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was one of the most vocal critics of the performance.
'That song @SethMacFarlane did made me wish he just stuck to telling mildly funny jokes! #Oscars,' he wrote.
In an effort to change the course of history, he used the remainder of his 15 minutes to redeem himself, starting with a sensual dance by Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum to his rendition of Frank Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight.'
Not good enough, said Shatner, who then revealed a video clip where MacFarlane, costumed in a Flying Nun habit, hit on Oscar nominee Sally Field in the green room.
No comments:
Post a Comment