Robert Downey Jr. Breaks Silence On Jimmy Kimmel's Oscars Joke

Robert Downey Jr. is finally addressing the controversial joke Jimmy Kimmel made in his opening monologue of the 96th Academy Awards.

In case you missed it, Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about the 'Iron Man' actor and his past struggles with addiction. The joke went viral as many viewers did not approve of the joke. Others, however, stood by Kimmel expressing that comedy is just that and it was nothing personal.

Now, fans are hearing from RDJ himself.

Kimmel introduced the stars and the nominees of the 2024 Oscars in his opening monologue, including RDJ for his nomination in 'Oppenheimer'.

"Congratulations to [Cillian Murphy's] costar Robert Downey Jr. This is the highest point of Robert Downey Jr.'s career," Kimmel said as the camera panned to the Marvel actor. He then added, "Well, one of the highest points."

But it didn't stop there as after RDJ touched his nose, the Oscars host, "Was that too on the nose or was that a drug motion you made?"

RDJ told Kimmel to "wrap it up," but Kimmel had one last punchline. "Look at this guy, he's so handsome, so talented. He's won every award there is to win. Is that an acceptance speech in your pocket or do you just have a very rectangular p---s?"

As you know, RDJ had struggled with drug addiction since the age of 6 when his father gave him drugs. RDJ has been outspoken about his journey, admitting that the recovery process took years, but the 'Iron Man' actor has been sober since 2003.

He has come a long way since, even making history on Oscars night, landing his first-ever Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor for his iconic work in 'Oppenheimer.' In his speech, Downey Jr thanked his “terrible childhood and the Academy, in that order” as well as his “veterinarian … sorry … wife, Susan Downey. She found me a snarling refuge pet and loved me back to life. That’s why I’m here.”

He has previously won two Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, two British Academy Film (BAFTA) Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

RDJ addressed the Oscars joke that Kimmel made in an Esquire profile posted on Monday, April 8.

"He is at a party within a party, cloistered behind a velvet rope in a packed, glittering room high above Los Angeles," the Esquire piece read, describing the post-Oscars party. "It’s close to midnight, eight hours after Jimmy Kimmel opened the Oscars ceremony with a thud of a joke about Downey’s drug history and six hours after Ke Huy Quan called his name, Hollywood leaped to its feet as if so proud of their boy after all these years, and Downey gave an acceptance speech that included the line of the night: 'You loved me back to life.' Susan gets them coffees, which he spills."

He later addressed the joke itself. "The Kimmel joke? I don’t care. I love Jimmy Kimmel," Downey Jr. shared. "I think he’s a national treasure.”

For the Esquire piece, RDJ was asked, "What do you want to do that you haven’t done?" to which he simply said, "Everything I haven’t done."

"It’s natural to bolster one’s delicate ego by imagining that everything’s been said, done, and experienced. And/or I love a bit of contempt prior to investigation. But I think that’s really what I’ve bumped up against in the last—let’s call it a thousand days. Said, ‘Oh, it’s not even just contrary action,’ and see what happens. It’s more like I notice folks, myself included, tend to hold ourselves in bondage based on our self-limiting beliefs."

Adding, "So then I go, Okay, well obviously I don’t have self-limiting beliefs in the area of you-name-it where it’s pretty clear that you’re creating a reality according to some pretty good expectations or with some confidence or with knowing how you get there—the steps. And then there’s—I love this phrase—You want problems in areas where you didn’t used to have areas."

RDJ was also asked what he enjoys reading. On top of the 'Rick Rubin', RDJ said, “We got a little twelve-step action.”

Downey Jr. previously said he lived through “30 years of dependency, depravity, and despair” before he made his comeback as Iron Man in the MCU in 2008.