The rumors are true: Jenny the Donkey, beloved mascot of “The Banshees of Inisherin,” did not attend the 95th Academy Awards, host Jimmy Kimmel admitted on Monday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
One of the more memorable bits of Sunday’s ceremony featured the miniature donkey wearing a glittery gold “emotional support” sash. Kimmel led her onto the stage and pointed out costars like Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in the audience before ushering her off to catch a flight on “Spirit Airlines.”
But it didn’t take long for the internet to realize she was not the real deal.
“Everybody was super excited to see her, but then that stirred up some controversy,” Kimmel said, referring to headlines labeling the cameo a “fraud.”
Indeed, the stand-in was a male donkey named Dominic, Kimmel admitted: “We didn’t think it was a good idea to fly a donkey over from Ireland, so we hired an L.A. donkey. Maybe you noticed like the lip fillers and the implants.”
The host personally apologized to everyone who was upset that they didn’t get to see the “bona fide” Jenny. “It’ll never happen again, I promise,” he joked.
On the subject of animals, he turned to the mystery of who played the bear in a presenting bit featuring “Cocaine Bear” director Elizabeth Banks.
Once again, internet sleuths attempted to beat him to the punch, with guesses ranging from Timothée Chalamet to Jessica Chastain, who was in attendance at the ceremony.
“It was a celebrity, that is correct,” Kimmel said. “And that celebrity was … DJ Jazzy Jeff!”
A photoshopped image of the DJ flashed across the screen as Kimmel urged everyone to “report” the “absolutely true” news.
“The Banshees of Inisherin” was nominated for nine Oscars, winning zero. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh, the film stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan.
Check out the Kimmel clip above.
