During his opening monologue at the 96th Oscars, host Jimmy Kimmel leaned heavily into a roast of Robert Downey Jr. that hasn't sat well with many viewers.
Kimmel, 56, who's hosting the ceremony for the fourth time, made jabs at Robert Downey Jr.'s past as a drug addict.
"This is the highest point of Robert Downey Jr.'s long and illustrious career — well, one of the highest points," Kimmel quipped.
Downey, who won the award for Best Supporting Actor, played along with the joke at first, smiling and tapping his nose.
"Was that 'too on the nose' or was that a drug motion you made?" Kimmel asked
Downey motioned for Kimmel to wrap it up and move on to someone else. But Kimmel wasn't done yet.
"I mean look at this guy. He's so handsome, he's so talented, he's won every award there is to win," the host continued. "Is that an acceptance speech in your pocket or do you just have a very rectangular penis?"
At this, Downey cocked his head and shrugged. He then gave Kimmel a sly smile and batted his eyes.
Many people were critical of Kimmel's jokes and took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend the "Oppenheimer" star.
"Robert Downey Jr if you want to Will Smith slap Jimmy Kimmel I don't blame you," said user @darkofthemovie.
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Downey won the Oscar later in the evening - his third nomination and first win. He brought the jokes during his acceptance speech, saying he'd like to thank "my terrible childhood" and "the academy — in that order."
Kimmel also made viewers uncomfortable with his jabs at Bradley Cooper for bringing his mother to all of the award shows.
"Are you working on a movie about Freud right now and not telling us?" he asked Cooper, who's up for Best Actor and Best Picture for "Maestro."
