Amy Schumer is making her intentions clear after the 2022 Oscars quickly became controversial.
The cohost, 40, took to Instagram on Monday, March 28, to clarify her joke about costars and real-life couple Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons from the Sunday, March 27, broadcast.
“Hey I appreciate the love for Kirsten Dunst,” Schumer wrote via Instagram Stories. “I love her too! That was a choreographed bit she was in on. Wouldn’t disrespect that queen like that.”
The Life & Beth star, who hosted alongside Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, brought the pair into her bit about seat fillers during Sunday’s awards show.
“OK it takes 27,000 people to put on the Oscars and every job is equally important. The gaffers. The camera people. The seat fillers. Everybody, alright. So, what do the seat fillers do?” she asked the crowd as she approached Dunst and Plemons. “When you get up to go to the bathroom, or if you’re going to cry because you didn’t win. Actually, let me just show you what seat fillers do.”
Schumer then directly asked the Bring It On star, “OK, here’s a seat filler. Honey, do you want to go to the bathroom?”
The crowd laughed as she continued. “Seat fillers, love them,” she said. “Jesse, I loved you in Power of the Dog.”
The Friday Night Lights alum replied, “You know that was my wife, Amy,” before the comedian quipped, “You’re married to that seat filler?”
Dunst and Plemons were both nominated for their roles in The Power of the Dog at the 94th Academy Awards. While they often refer to each other as “husband” and “wife,” they have previously claimed they haven’t walked down the aisle — yet. The twosome, who share son Ennis, born in 2018, and James, born in 2021, have been engaged since 2017.
While they both lost their respective categories on Sunday, Dunst has made it clear how honored she was to be nominated at the same time as her partner.
“To be honored by the Academy is a truly humbling experience. For both Jesse and I to get our first nominations together is beyond our wildest dreams,” she said in February. “Congratulations to Jane [Campion], Benedict [Cumberbatch], Kodi [Smit-McPhee] and Jesse on their nominations and the entire cast and crew of The Power of the Dog. Working on this film was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I’m forever grateful for Jane trusting me to bring Rose’s story to life.”
