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Jimmy Kimmel made an awkward quip about Robert Downey Jr.’s drug addiction during his Oscars 2024 monologue Sunday night.
“This is the highest point of Robert Downey Jr.’s long and illustrious career — well, one of the highest points,” the evening’s host quipped as the camera panned to the “Oppenheimer” star.
Downey Jr. then tapped on his nose twice, perhaps in reference to his past cocaine addiction, to which Kimmel responded, “Too on the nose? Or is that a drug motion you made?”
“This is the highest point of Robert Downey Jr.’s long and illustrious career — well, one of the highest points,” he quipped. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP “Too on the nose? Or is that a drug motion you made?” Kimmel continued after Downey Jr. tapped on his nose. ABCPage Six is live from the Oscars! Sign up to text with us for the inside scoop all weekend long.
The “Iron Man” star, who is nominated for his role as Lewis Strauss in the Best Supporting Actor category at this year’s Academy Awards, then made a rolling motion with his hands to push the late-night host to keep the monologue moving.
Downey Jr., 58, has come a long way since he was imprisoned as inmate P50522 in 1999, when he was sentenced to three years behind bars amid his struggle with illicit substances.
The “Avengers” actor has been sober since July 2003 but has never shied away from talking about his troubled past.
The “Oppenheimer” star spent three years behind bars on a drug conviction after a 1996 bust. ABACA/Shutterstock He continued to skip mandatory drug tests, which led to further arrests. Getty ImagesWant more celebrity and pop culture news?
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Over the summer, he told “Parenthood” alum Dax Shepard on his “Armchair Expert” podcast that prison was like “being sent to a distant planet where there is no way home until the planets align.”
Downey Jr. was first arrested in 1996 for possession of heroin, cocaine and an unloaded .357-caliber Magnum. He was sentenced to three years of probation and required to undergo mandatory drug testing.
He was arrested again in 2001 after Los Angeles police found him passed out in an alleyway. Getty Images He finally sobered up after being sent to rehab in the early 2000s. APThe “Tropic Thunder” star, however, skipped a drug test and had to spend four months in Los Angeles County jail, which prompted his first wife, Deborah Falconer, to leave him.
Despite the initial punishment, Downey Jr. skipped yet another drug test and landed the 3-year sentence at a state prison in California.
“You could just feel the evil in the air, and that was no trouble at all because it was kind of like just being in a really bad neighborhood,” Downey Jr. told Shepard. “There was no opportunity there. There was only threats.”
After his first wife left him, the “Tropic Thunder” star met and married film producer Susan Levin. FilmMagic He’s nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role as Lewis Strauss in “Oppenheimer.” ©Universal/Courtesy Everett CollectionFollow Page Six’s coverage of Oscars 2024
Oscars 2024 red carpet live updates: See all the celebrity outfits How to watch the Oscars without cable: Time, streaming, red carpet Vanessa Hudgens pregnant with first child, debuts baby bump while hosting Oscars red carpetUnfortunately, his drug abuse didn’t end there, as Downey Jr. was arrested on drug charges in April 2001 after Los Angeles police found him in an alleyway.
Production behind the hit show “Ally McBeal” fired him and he was sent to rehab.
His co-star Emily Blunt, seen here, is also nominated for her role in the film. Chris Pizzello/Invision/APWith help from his friends, including since-disgraced actor Mel Gibson, the “Sherlock Holmes” star sobered up and eventually met his second and current wife, Susan Levin, whom he’s described as his “bedrock, touchstone and lucky stars.”
Downey Jr. and Levin married in a star-studded wedding in the Hamptons in 2005 that featured performances by Billy Joel and Sting.
“Susan is his blessing,” a source close to Downey Jr. told Page Six.
The couple share son Exton, 12, and daughter Avri, 9. He’s also father to son Indio, 30, whom he shares with Falconer.
