Amy Schumer, the American stand-up comedian and actor, revealed that she has been facing death threats from some people after she made the ‘seat filler joke’ on actor Kirsten Dunst at the 2022 Oscars.
Speaking at the radio show hosted by Howard Stern, Schumer said that some people thought that she disrespected Dunst by cracking the joke. A seat filler is a person who fills in an empty seat during an event.
Schumer who was one of the co-hosts at the Academy Awards came down the stage and pretended to think that Dunst, who was nominated for The Power of the Dog, was a mere seat filler. She dismissed Dunst out of her seat and attempted to strike up a conversation with actor Jesse Plemons who was also an Oscar nominee. When Plemons noted that Dunst was his wife, Schumer reacted as if she didn’t know that and thought Dunst was a seat filler.
When this sparked controversy, Schumer took to her social media handle to clarify her stance. She wrote, “Hey I appreciate the love for Kirsten Dunst. I love her too! That was a choreographed bit she was in on,” Schumer wrote in a note shared on her Instagram Story on Monday. “Wouldn’t disrespect that queen like that.”
Later, on the Howard Stern Show, she said that she came forward with this response to fans because the death threats she was getting over the joke were out of control.
“They were so bad the Secret Service reached out to me about that bit, ” she said, adding that Schumer noted the Los Angeles Police Department was also in contact with her over the threats she faced.
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Schumer noted that she made sure to reach out to all of her joke targets to give them a heads up and know if they are ok with it. She mentioned that she seven reached out to Leonardo DiCaprio about the joke involving him dating younger women. Schumer said, DiCaprio, replied, “Go ahead.”
Meanwhile reacting to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage, Schumer first addressed on social media that she was still “triggered and traumatized” by the incident. While she faced backlash for this comment, she clarified her opinion on Stern’s show. She said, “People made fun of me for saying it was traumatizing. I don’t think it was traumatizing for me. I think it was traumatizing for all of us.”