Jimmy Kimmel Takes Aim at Oscar Voters for Not Nominating “Barbie” Director Greta Gerwig in Opening: 'You Did This'

"You're the ones who didn't vote for her, by the way! Don't act like you had nothing to do with this," Kimmel joked of Gerwig in his opening monologue

Jimmy Kimmel is giving Barbie director Greta Gerwig the praise she deserves!

On Sunday, the late-night comedian, 56, returned to host the 2024 Oscars, his fourth time in the role.

Kimmel opened the show with a clip from Barbie, in which star Margot Robbie sat at the bus stop. After she pointed out how good looking he was, Kimmel responded, "I know, I was just thinking that! I haven't eaten in three weeks. I'm so hungry, I have to go host the Oscars."

Once he took the stage, Kimmel joked about the "partial standing ovation" he received and thanked everyone for making it on time since the show started an hour early. Then, he gave a shout out to each of the films nominated this year and their stars.

"I know that winning an Oscar is something you've dreamed about since you were a kid, and now here we are, all dressed up celebrating the best of the best beginning with the biggest movie of the year: Barbie," he said. "Now Barbie is a feminist icon thanks to Greta Gerwig, who many believed deserved to be nominated for Best Director."

Related: Barbie Director Greta Gerwig Says 'Of Course I Wanted' Margot Robbie to Get Best Actress Oscar Nomination

As the audience applauded, Kimmel called out the Academy voters for failing to properly recognize her, saying, "You're the ones who didn't vote for her, by the way! Don't act like you had nothing to do with this. You did this!"

"And I don't want to leave out Margot Robbie. Margot put this giant hit together," he continued. "Again, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are here tonight. Look kids, it's Barbie and Ken sitting just near each other."

"Ryan and Margot, I want you to know that even if neither one of you wins an Oscar tonight, you both already won the something much more important: the genetic lottery," he joked.

Related: Jimmy Kimmel Reveals Which Ken He’d Be in Barbie — and It's Not 'a Beach Ken' (Exclusive)

On Jan. 23, Barbie received eight nominations for the Oscars but Gerwig, 40, and Robbie, 33, were notably left out of the Best Director and Best Actress categories, respectively.

While speaking with Time for its Women of the Year issue, Gerwig addressed this year's nominations, saying, “Of course I wanted it for Margot." She added, "But I’m just happy we all get to be there together."

Gerwig also pointed out that she was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay along with her husband Noah Baumbach, whom she cowrote the movie with, and Robbie was nominated for Best Picture as a co-producer of Barbie alongside her husband Tom Ackerley and their co-producers David Heyman and Robbie Brenner.

“A friend’s mom said to me, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t get nominated,’” Gerwig told Time. “I said, ‘But I did. I got an Oscar nomination.’ She was like, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful for you!’ I was like, ‘I know!’ ”

Robbie also previously spoke out about the Oscar nominations at a Screen Actors Guild screening of Barbie on Jan. 31, saying, "There’s no way to feel sad when you know you’re this blessed," according to Deadline.

Robbie also noted that she felt "beyond ecstatic" the movie received eight nominations. "Obviously I think Greta should be nominated as a director because what she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing, what she pulled off, it really is. But it’s been an incredible year for all the films," she said, per the outlet.

Ahead of his Oscars gig, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! star — who's also hosted the Emmys three times — told PEOPLE why he feels "like the Kansas City Chiefs" at the Super Bowl.

"Like you’ve been there before, but it doesn’t make a difference. It’s still exciting and you still have to do well," he said.

The Academy announced that Kimmel would reprise his hosting role in November 2023, but he recently confessed to the Los Angeles Times that he didn’t think he’d ever come back. That was until he saw Barbie.

“I am sitting in a movie theater watching Barbie and thinking, ‘Well, maybe I’ll do this again, because at least I have a point of reference with everyone,’” Kimmel said of Gerwig's film that became a global phenomenon.

He also told PEOPLE, "We work very hard to make the show as good as it possibly can be," and credited his wife, Molly McNearney, who is returning as the show's co-executive producer as well as the rest of their creative team.

"The big challenge always is trying to keep the show moving, so it's a matter of picking your spots and popping in when you're needed and staying out of the picture when you're not," said Kimmel. "We’ve got some really great movies and great actors and performers. It's tricky, but I think we have it figured out as much as you can."

Related: Why Jimmy Kimmel Says Celebs Eating at In-N-Out After Award Shows Is Now a Tradition (Exclusive)

Oppenheimer is the most-nominated film of the year, and other top honorees include Barbie, Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon, among others.

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The 96th Academy Awards are airing live on ABC Sunday from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California.

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