See John Mulaney, Nick Kroll Rip on Trump, Mel Gibson in Spirit Awards Monologue


Oh, Hello comedians John Mulaney and Nick Kroll opened the 32nd Spirit Awards with a monologue that poked fun at Mel Gibson, Donald Trump and Steve Bannon.

We like to think of these awards as the ones without Mel Gibson, Kroll said of the Oscar-nominated Hacksaw Ridge director. People wondered: how long would it take Hollywood to forgive someone for anti-Semitic, racist hate speech? The answer: Eight years!

Mulaney added, So look out for the 2024 Oscars, when the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award goes to Mr. Steve Bannon.

Kroll and Mulaney then bantered about how sexy and hot Bannon is. He looks like if Nick Offerman drowned, Kroll said.

The duo said that they expected Spirit Award winners to deliver political messages along with their acceptance speech, but questioned the impact those speeches would have, since the ceremony honoring independent film was airing on IFC. In terms of impact, you could give your speech directly to camera, or you can whisper it to yourself in the bathroom, Mulaney said.

Kroll cut in, Speaking of bathrooms, President Trump rescinded rights for transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice this week, because transgender children in public schools have had it too good for too long.

Mulaney added, Hey Trump, you and Robert Durst are both rich sociopaths from New York real estate empires, yet somehow Robert Durst is more likable.

Kroll then added that if the Spirit Awards leaned any further to the left, they would topple into the Pacific Ocean.

Mulaney and Kroll also joked about how depressing this years slate of films was. These films are, to quote the president, Sad exclamation point, Mulaney said, with Kroll adding he watched the behind-the-scenes footage of A Dogs Life just to cheer up.