Humor

Oprah Winfrey was an icon of few words Friday night ... in fact, she was an icon of just one word ... "NO!"

We got O in New York City entering the Whitby Hotel and asked if she'd be open to hosting the Oscars if the Academy asked her. Her thumbs-down answer is unequivocal, but the way she delivers it is even more telling.

It seems like a no-win for just about anyone who takes the gig after the Kevin Hart debacle. Hart is still taking heat for his homophobic comments years ago, and the Academy is also taking a beating for putting its collective finger up and seeing which way the wind was blowing.

Sarah Silverman understands times have changed ... and that's why she's no longer the same person or comedian who used to bank on homophobic jokes.

We got Sarah outside of Craig's Thursday night and wanted her take on Nick Cannon dragging her name in the Kevin Hart controversy. ICYMI ... Nick was furious about the backlash Kevin got after old homophobic tweets resulted in him stepping down from his dream gig as host of the Oscars.

So, Nick dug up some old tweets by Sarah, Chelsea Handler and Amy Schumer in which they used similar language. Point blank ... Nick thinks there's a serious double standard in Hollywood.

Sarah's planning to address Nick's comments on her own platform, but she did say she sees things differently than she did back in the day.

Kel Mitchell has a serious case of '90s nostalgia because he tells us he wants to shoot his "Good Burger" sequel with stars from the original cast of "All That."

We got Kel out Tuesday night at A Simple Bar in Los Angeles and he sounded really excited about a potential 'GB' reunion ... with a twist.

We gotta admit, the prospect of a "Good Burger" sequel featuring Nick Cannon and Amanda Bynes sounds pretty juicy ... can we get fries with that?

As for the roots of the reunion ... Kel says the idea for a second helping started when he reunited with Kenan Thompson for a sketch on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

While Kenan and Kel are both down for a reboot of the 1997 comedy, Nickelodeon execs haven't given it the green light because there's been so much turnover at the top of the network.

Whoopi Goldberg thinks Ken Jeong should be the next person the Motion Picture Academy targets to host the Oscars now that Kevin Hart's out ... and Ken is totally down with it.

We got the actor/comedian Wednesday at LAX, where we asked his reaction to Whoopi's ringing endorsement -- in the aftermath of Hart stepping down after those homophobic tweets.

Thing is ... if they don't want him as host, Ken has some Oscar-related jobs he says are perfectly suited for him.

We gotta hand it to Ken ... he's got the classic Oscars acceptance speech down to a tee. Dude's already got us in stitches with his pitch, so imagine his material if he actually had time to brainstorm!

As Whoopi -- a former Oscars host, herself -- points out, Ken's a legit movie buff who would be the first Asian-American to host the Oscars. But, we're guessing the Academy will be more turned on by the fact Ken ain't worried about that skimpy paycheck.

Remember when TMZ Sports spotted Jimmy Butler drivin' around Beverly Hills in a freakin' minivan??

The Philadelphia Sixers superstar is finally dishing out the deets on why he prefers mom mobiles over luxury whips ... saying it's all a big scheme to throw people off.

And, that it does.

Not only does Jimmy Buckets rock vans -- he was in a Toyota Sienna when we shot him back in September -- he also has a "baby on board" sign in the back to top it all off.

"I'm telling you, you would never know it's me swanging that bad baby," Butler says.

"I stay real nonchalant with everything."

Hey, like we said ... the Sienna ain't a bad car at all -- 0 to 60 in 7 seconds with "spacious, high-quality interior," according to U.S. News and World Report ... and those 14 cup holders!!

It's all part of Butler's new YouTube channel, which documents his life on and off the court.

Armie Hammer and Justin Theroux made life imitate art with a trip to D.C. ... for a screening of their new film about Ruth Bader Ginsburg and actually got shoulder to shoulder with the real RBG!

The actors -- both of whom star in the upcoming flick "On the Basis of Sex" about a young Ginsburg rising to prominence -- crashed the nation's capital Tuesday, where they completely bro'd out by photobombing every touristy spot ... with one final stop at the Notorious RBG's office. Getting a pic with RBG is the Washington equivalent of getting snapped next to Mick Jagger.

Each guy captioned their own shots with the Supreme Court Justice slightly differently. Armie went traditional with, "....and then this happened!" while Justin stirred things up a bit by writing, "...new couple alert." That's funny, ya know, 'cause of everything. Ha!

As for Justice Ginsburg, she looks like she's doing a lot better since taking a nasty fall and breaking a few ribs about a month ago. She was released from the hospital shortly thereafter.

Later the same day, Justin and Armie attended a D.C. screening of their flick -- where they posed with young Ginsburg, aka Felicity Jones. It hits theaters on Christmas Day.

Nick Cannon is praising Kevin Hart for not letting the Motion Picture Academy subjugate him.

We got Nick in NYC Tuesday night, and he was squarely on Kevin's side. As you know, Hart refused to follow the Academy's ultimatum to apologize for his homophobic comments ... or else.

Nick then addressed his comments about others who used the f-word and suffered no real consequences ... in particular Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer and Chelsea Handler. He says it is clear evidence of a double standard, although point of fact ... they weren't hosting the Oscars.

And, wait till you hear Nick's review of the United States of America ... harsh for sure.

By now, Julia Roberts is totally used to media outlets sucking up to her, but an Upstate NY newspaper took it to the next level -- inadvertently -- with a headline praising her holes.

Seriously ... this is NOT photoshopped.

The Post-Journal in Jamestown, NY topped a Saturday article about Julia and her Amazon show, "Homecoming," with ... "Julia Roberts Finds Life And Her Holes Get Better With Age."

Awesome news for Julia, right?

Well, the paper copped to making a huge spelling error. It published a correction saying it was supposed to say her "Roles" are what's getting better.

Woulda been pretty awesome, though, if Julia actually said that in the interview! Makes ya wonder how they fact-checked that original headline, right?

In any event, doesn't seem like Julia's too bent outta shape about the error. One thing we know for sure is ... what Viv would have to say about all this.

Kanye West definitely ain't no Lil' Skateboard P -- aka Pharrell Williams, if you'll recall -- but it looks like he's interested in picking up some tricks of the trade ... like ollieing.

Ye was down in Miami, FL Sunday where he ran into skate videographer and Jenkem Magazine contributor Alex Raspa, who was quick to hop on the opportunity to teach the MC some moves after learning Kanye never learned how to ollie. It's skateboarding 101.

Alex's first tip for Kanye -- be comfortable, bro! He then shows Ye how to pop it up, slide the front foot up the board ... and try to get some air while landing back on the wheels.

Simple enough, right? Eh ... maybe not. Mr. West gives it a valiant effort, but he's no Tony Hawk. Gettin' close to Weezy status though! Kanye cruises a bit before making another ollie attempt ... getting praise from onlookers. But he tells 'em to hold their props for his "weak ass" tricks. It's big air or bust around these parts, apparently, for Yeezy.

Tony Rock says Kevin Hart stepping down as Oscars host is a sign of the times, and believes we'd all be better off if we could embrace "jokes" instead of being offended -- and in this case, he's talking specifically about gay people.

The comedian was outside the Hollywood Improv Thursday night after news broke Hart was bailing on the Academy Awards job following backlash over his old homophobic tweets. Tony thinks Kevin should have apologized AND stayed on as host because it's his best opportunity to flip the controversy into something positive.

He also thinks the LGBTQ community needs to be more accepting of jokes. He believes it's a sign of respect and acceptance. We'll let him explain further ... watch the clip.

Now, several of Hart's old tweets weren't really in the style of stand-up comedy -- they were just straight-up homophobic. It's unclear if Tony was aware of that when we spoke, but that might be why he thinks Kevin owed an apology.

Bottom line for Tony ... a society where you can't tell jokes freely isn't a good thing.

Michael Blackson's got a few interesting points about the fallout from Kevin Hart being chosen to host the Oscars, but he's certain, no matter what ... Kevin's gonna be just fine.

We got the comedian outside Boulevard3 in Hollywood Thursday night and asked about Kevin stepping down from hosting after being slammed for old homophobic tweets.

Blackson goes to bat for his buddy (they're back on good terms), telling us all black comics have said offensive things in the past -- even the legends -- and the Academy should have been well aware of that.

Blackson says the Oscars is just as at fault for this debacle, because it either offered Hart the job without looking up his past ... or ignored it. Either way, Mike feels Kev's response should have been enough to remedy the situation ... but no such luck.

The Ghanaian native also points out there was actually one perfect black comedian who never said anything wrong, and well ... look where he's at now.

Anyway, Michael's not worried about his friend ... because he says Hart's still rich and doesn't need the hosting gig.

Count Kevin Kline among the people who was totally fine with Kevin Hart hosting the Oscars, because he thinks it's time to cut him, and all comedians, some slack for jokes from the past.

The Academy Award-winning actor was leaving Michael's restaurant in NYC Thursday when we asked what he thought about KH landing the gig. This was several hours before Hart backed out of hosting -- but KK defended him against the backlash over old, but blatantly homophobic, tweets.

The way Kline sees it, stand-up comics have been mocking all groups -- gays, blacks, Jews and more -- for decades. He admits times are changing now, and comedians are too, but he was willing to give Hart a pass on his past remarks.

As you know, Hart posted a video Thursday, claiming he had evolved since the offending tweets, but did not apologize for them. Hours later he stepped down, saying he didn't want to be a distraction -- and, at that point, he did apologize for his "insensitive words from my past."

BTW ... Kline's stance on jokes from days of old might not be that shocking considering his own "In & Out" role from 1997. Would this scene be kosher today?

Michael Richards admits he hasn't always been great at dealing with hecklers -- duh -- but he's now dishing out advice to other stars in the hopes they can learn from his mistakes.

Remember, back in 2006 the "Seinfeld" star lost his mind on a heckler at the Laugh Factory -- dropping a bunch of n-bombs in a tirade that was captured on video.

He's apologized for the incident several times since then and even met with Jesse Jackson in the hopes of repairing his relationship with the black community.

So, with NBA players getting heckled like crazy by fans these days -- specifically Patrick Beverley and Kevin Durant -- we asked Richards if he had any words of wisdom.

"I didn't handle the heckler too good that evening," Richards told us.

But, he did advise the players to not feed into the trash-talkers -- even though it might be hard -- and try to focus on doing their jobs.

"Just remember, you're there to entertain people. Stay with the entertainment. We need it."

Ice Cube's gotta say it was NOT a good day when Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury's heavyweight championship fight ended in a split decision draw -- in fact, Cube's straight up pissed.

We got him storming out of L.A.'s Staples Center moments after the boxers fought to a 12 round tie, and he called the outcome "bulls**t" because he thinks Wilder was robbed.

True enough, Wilder did knock down Fury twice -- including in the 12th -- but he got up both times.

Just like the match ... opinions are split. We also talked to boxer Andre Berto leaving the bout and he thought the result was fair, and he's looking forward to a rematch.

Michael Rappaport, on the other hand, wanted more from Deontay.

Alec Baldwin must be feeling confident about the outcome of his attempted assault case in NYC ... 'cause he played it for laughs -- while playing President Trump -- on 'SNL.'

The opening skit was about Trump's anger over the Mueller probe and his ex-attorney Michael Cohen flipping. As Alec/Donald put it ... "God, I haven't been this upset since I flipped out over that parking space."

This was Alec's first appearance on the show since he got busted last month for trying to punch a guy who jacked his parking spot. Breaking character to poke fun at the case could be seen as a risky move.

Judges typically don't react well to that sort of thing -- however, the stakes ain't exactly high here. Alec's facing one count of attempted assault in the third degree, and one count of harassment in the second degree -- a misdemeanor and a ticket, basically.

Why not have some fun with it, right?

'SNL' also paid tribute to late President George H.W. Bush during the Weekend Update segment.

They pulled out some of Dana Carvey's best impressions of the 41st Prez -- including that memorable moment when they got the real Bush to challenge Carvey.

Sean Penn busted out his sense of humor all over his pal Bradley Cooper ... just in time for Bradley's huge Hollywood achievement.

BC was honored with the American Cinematheque Award Thursday night at The Beverly Hilton. The star-studded dinner featured plenty of tributes from his fellow actors and collaborators, but Sean's stood out because it included a pretty funny stroll down memory lane.

Sean started off his toast by telling the crowd something felt strangely familiar about this scenario ... which led perfectly into a viral clip of Cooper -- from almost 20 years ago -- as an aspiring actor asking Penn a question on "Inside the Actors Studio."

To be fair, the clip Sean showed was slightly doctored -- in the original, he answers Cooper's question about "Hurlyburly" right away ... but still pretty hilarious.

Sean did praise Bradley and labeled him one "handsome motherf**ker."