Bethenny Frankel has defended Jimmy Kimmel's Oscars joke about Robert Downey Jr., after the comedian faced backlash for his remarks during the ceremony on March 10.
In the latest episode of her Just B With Bethenny podcast, which went live Wednesday, the 53-year-old shared her thoughts on the 2024 Academy Awards.
Frankel said she missed this year's show because she was returning from her daughter's volleyball tournament, but added she had watched clips of Kimmel's performance, describing the comedian as one of her favorites.
"Jimmy Kimmel's hilarious," the Real Housewives of New York City star said. "He does it with polish. He doesn't do it with anger. He doesn't do it with stupidity. He doesn't do it with sarcasm. He just does it with polish. He's excellent at it, I have to say."
Frankel also addressed the awkwardness surrounding Kimmel's joke about Downey. The Oscars host poked fun at the actor's past issues with drug and alcohol addiction.
Discussing the star's Oscar nomination in his opening monologue, Kimmel said, "This is the highest point of Robert Downey Jr.'s long and illustrious career. Well, one of the highest points."
The 58-year-old actor, who has been sober since 2003, didn't seem impressed by the gibe, frowning and tapping his nose.
"Too on the nose, or is that a drug motion you made," Kimmel responded, with Downey motioning for the 56-year-old to move on.
Kimmel went on to joke that less than 20 years ago, "things weren't going that great for Robert," as the star played the villain "in a movie where Tim Allen turns into a dog."
He then pivoted to Messi, the dog from Best Picture nominee Anatomy of a Fall, who was also in the audience.
"It didn't look as though Robert Downey Jr. totally loved that joke," Frankel said on her podcast. "But he had to know it was coming."
Newsweek has reached out to Bethenny Frankel and Jimmy Kimmel for comment via email.
Downey went on to win the Best Supporting Actor award, telling the audience, "I'd like to thank my terrible childhood and the Academy, in that order."
The star has previously discussed taking drugs from the age of 6, after his father—filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.—gave him marijuana.
This year's ceremony was Kimmel's fourth time hosting the Academy Awards. Although his roast of Downey was awkward, other bits were more successful, such as his jokes about Donald Trump.
After the former president criticized Kimmel's opening monologue on Truth Social, dubbing him the worst host and a "less than average person," the comedian read the post out to the audience.
"Blah, blah, blah. 'Make America Great Again.' OK, now, see if you can guess which former president just posted that on Truth Social. Anyone? No?" Kimmel said.
He added: "Well, thank you, President Trump. Thank you for watching, I'm surprised you're still—isn't it past your jail time?"
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