Amy Schumer Claims She Received Death Threats Over This Oscar Joke

Chris Rock wasn’t the only comedian that was attacked for a joke at the 2022 Oscars. While the result of his joke was a slap from actor Will Smith on live TV, Amy Schumer received several threats on social media for a joke she made about actress Kirsten Dunst.

In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Schumer revealed that she got many death threats from viewers following her performance at the Oscars. The jokes were so severe that they caught the attention of the United States Secret Service. Keep reading to find out more about the experience.

As part of her act at the 2022 Oscars, Schumer made a joke where she pretended that she didn’t know Kirsten Dunst. She then referred to her as a “seat filler” and asked her to leave her seat in front of Jesse Plemons, her husband.

The audience laughed since Dunst and Plemons were nominated for Academy Awards for their roles in the 2021 film, “The Power of the Dog.” During the performance, Schumer turned to Plemons and said, “Jesse, I loved you in ‘Power of the Dog,’” 

Plemons replied, “You know, that was my wife, Amy.” Schumer then responded, “You’re married to that seat filler?” The comedian later revealed that the couple was in on the whole act. “I did a bit with Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons that was completely orchestrated. We talked beforehand,” Schumer told Stern in the interview. “We all worked it out together.” 

Schumer explained that she talked to everyone she planned to make jokes about at the 94th Oscars to be sure they were fine with it. “I’ve been burned too many times, and I didn’t want the camera to cut to somebody looking sad,” she said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZHJGm0owCo

After the Oscars ended, there were many mixed reactions to the jokes, and Schumer received several threats because of the joke. She explained that some viewers mistook the joke for a real one and thought she was actually making fun of Dunst. Fans got upset at her for “disrespecting Kirsten Dunst like that” and started to send her death threats.

https://twitter.com/fadhilstopit/status/1508317363636121602?s=20&t=DPsZ4t-tLihQ95KGgGHfKw

Several Twitter users also called for Schumer to be “slapped” over the joke. One tweeted, “Okay but Kirsten Dunst should’ve slapped Amy Schumer at that point….Chris rock ain’t the only one who deserved a b---ch slap.”

Another tweet read, “Amy Schumer calling Kirsten Dunst a seat filler bc it’s always the lamest of b****** who think they can make fun of perfect girls.”

I got death threats,” Schumer said. She also said that the Secret Service reached out to her, and she was confused. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I think you have the wrong number. This is Amy, not Will. You must have the wrong…’ ‘No, you are getting death threats.’ Okay.” “Not that I want Will to get death threats,” she joked.

Schumer noted that the threats were so concerning that the Secret Service had to reach out to confirm that she was okay. “The Secret Service reached out to me. [The threats] were so bad that the Secret Service reached out to me about that bit,” Schumer said. She then blamed the whole thing on gender bias, “Misogyny is unbelievable.”

Schumer also revealed that Dunst was very worried when she heard about the threats. Also, she tried to control the situation by telling fans that she knew about the joke beforehand. The Secret Service wasn’t the security agency that reached out to Schumer to offer help.

The Los Angeles Police Department also showed concern by reaching out to Schumer. “The Secret Service, the LAPD because [the threats] were that serious and that many. And they called me and they were like, ‘Did you make fun of Kristen Dunst at the Oscars,’” she said.

Asides from Schumer’s controversial jokes, fans also criticized her for claiming to be “traumatized” and “triggered” following fellow comedian Chris Rock being slapped by Will Smith on the 2022 Oscar stage. She said this in a now-deleted post on Instagram. 

Schumer said, “Still triggered and traumatized.” She continued, “I love my friend [Chris Rock] and believe he handled it like a pro. He stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend [Questlove], and the whole thing was so disturbing.”

She added, “So much pain in [Will Smith] anyway I’m still in shock and stunned and sad. I’m proud of myself and my cohosts. But yeah. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed.”

In response to the backlash, Schumer noted that she was shocked that people mocked her for saying she was triggered. She continued, “I don’t think it was traumatizing for me. I think it was traumatizing for all of us.”