Academy Awards host Jimmy Kimmel inadvertently caused a stir online Sunday (March 12) when the comedian made several jokes about Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.
Before Rihanna took the stage to perform her song “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Jimmy approached Malala in the audience and asked her a rather un-serious question.
“As the youngest Nobel Prize winner in history, I was wondering, do you think Harry Styles spit on Chris Pine,” he asked, referring to last year’s viral Spitgate controversy.
Malala gave a simple, yet poignant response. “I only talk about peace,” she quipped.
Afterward, Malala addressed the bizarre segment on Twitter.
“Treat people with kindness,” she wrote.
Despite Malala’s peaceful response to Jimmy, the internet was not as kind to the host’s cringe-inducing joke.
Check out some reactions, below. Warning: Some tweets may contain strong language.
During the Venice Film Festival in September 2022, Harry Styles was accused of spitting on his Don’t Worry Darling co-star Chris Pine.
Footage of the supposed “Spitgate” even went viral on social media.
READ MORE: Jimmy Kimmel Awkwardly Jokes With Malala at 2023 Oscars
In the clip, Styles takes his seat in the theater, leans over Pine and appears to pucker his lips. Pine appears to react with an annoyed, shocked face as he stops clapping and looks down at his lap.
However, Pine has since said that Styles did not spit on him.
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