Oscars host Kumail Nanjiani faces backlash over Schindler’s List joke

Attendees at the Oscars had barely settled into their comfy seats when one of the guest presenters found himself at the centre of a backlash that quickly spread beyond Hollywood’s famous Dolby Theatre.

Actor and comedian Kumail Nanjiani was on temporary hosting duty on Sunday evening when he attempted a gag about trimming down films to better suit ever-shrinking attention spans.

He told the audience: ‘You know what? We should take some of these feature films, remake them as shorts. Save us some time, we have so much going on.’

He then reeled off a string of reworked titles for comic effect, shifting familiar names into snappier versions. The premise drew a few laughs in the audience, but the tone soon appeared to shift as the final line was delivered.

‘Instead of It’s a Wonderful Life, how about It’s a Wonderful Month? West Side Anecdote. The King’s Tweet. Some of That Jazz. Call Me By Your Nickname. No County for Old Man. One Battle.’

The final punchline, however, was what caused the consternation. Nanjiani ended the set-up with ‘Schindler’s Post-It’, referencing the Holocaust drama Schindler’s List.

Inside the venue, the response was mostly subdued, with very little sign of the laughter that the Emmy Award-winning comic would have hoped for.

A number of viewers watching from home were far less restrained in their reaction. Social media quickly started seeing complaints and outrage about the quip, with many questioning both the taste and the general logic of the joke.

One viewer wrote: ‘Can’t say that Schindler’s List joke was in any good taste.’ Another focused on the wording and mechanism of the gag itself, saying: ‘A list isn’t a form of stationery, so “Schindler’s post-it” doesn’t make any sense. Bad joke.’

Some responses were openly furious about the joke, with one person posting online: ‘That was as CHEAP leftist antisemitic comment by this f***, Kumail Nanjiani… Schindler’s Post-It. Don’t invite him back’.

Another added: ‘Hollywood is now joking about the Holocaust at the Oscars. My how far we’ve come.’

Schindler’s List remains one of the most acclaimed films in Oscar history. Directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1993, it tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, played by Liam Neeson, who saved around 1,200 Jews during the Nazi occupation.

The film is highly and widely regarded for its unflinching portrayal of the Holocaust and its exploration of entrenched antisemitism. The modern classic was also a major success at the Oscars, picking up multiple awards and cementing its place as one of the most important historical dramas ever made.

Kumail’s risky gag wasn’t the only joke to cause something of a commotion on the night. Elsewhere in the ceremony, host Conan O’Brien also found himself under scrutiny.

The comedian opened the show with a controversial line referencing Jeffrey Epstein, saying: ‘It’s the first time since 2012 that there are no British actors nominated for Best Actor or Best Actress. A British spokesperson said “yeah, well at least we arrest our paedophiles”, so they got that.’

The punchline prompted a nervous response inside the theatre, with muted laughs and uneasy reactions from the crowd.