The 50-year-old talk show host opened with a joke on last year's goof-up when the wrong film was announced as the Best Picture winner.
"Some of you will be going home tonight with an Academy Award. This year, when you hear your name called, don't get up right away," he joked, adding that Academy had asked him whether he would like to do a comedy bit with the accountants.
Kimmel turned serious to address the sexual harassment scandal in Hollywood and the post-Weinstein era that saw women uniting and opening up about their experiences, which led to the fall of many of Hollywood's high and mighty.
"Oscar is the most respected man in Hollywood - he keeps his hands where you can see them, never says a rude word and, most importantly, no penis at all. He is literally a statute of limitations, and that's the kind of men we need more of in this town.
Kimmel also hailed the box office successes of "Wonder Woman" and "Black Panther", both fronted by a woman and an African-American, respectively.
"'Black Panther' is one of the positive stories this year, especially for African-Americans and Bob Iger (Disney Chairman). 'Black Panther' and 'Wonder Woman 'are massive hits because I remember the time the major studios did not believe that a woman or a minority can open a superhero movie and the reason I remember all this is because it was March last year," he said.
Sam Rockwell was the first winner of the night as he bagged the Best Supporting Actor trophy for his role in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri".
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