Seth MacFarlane Jokes About Rihanna, Chris Brown "Violence" in Oscars Opening Monologue

USMagazine, Sunday, February 24, 2013, 7:10pm (PST)

Yep, Seth MacFarlane went there. At the Academy Awards in Hollywood on Sunday Feb. 22., the first-time host, 39, was eager to push the envelope with his opening monologue. Recapping the year's honored films, the Family Guy creator discussed Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, and managed to invoke the music world's most controversial couple.

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“This is a story about man fighting to get back his woman who has been subjected to unthinkable violence, or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it - a date movie," MacFarlane quipped as the crowd laughed nervously. "That's as bad as it gets, if it makes you feel better," he then assured the audience. "It's really not as bad as it gets."

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Continuing his bit on Tarantino's slavery-era flick. which famously makes liberal use of the "N" word: "I'm told the screenplay is loosely based off of Mel Gibson’s voicemails?"

Chatting up the year's other honoree that deals with issue of slavery -- Lincoln -- MacFarlane praised its dedicated star, Daniel-Day Lewis. “Your process fascinates me. Now you were totally 100 percent in character as Lincoln 24/7 during the movie. That’s what I read. Like, you stayed in character all day, every day," he marveled. "So like, if you saw a cell phone, would you have to be like, ‘Oh my God, what’s that?!’ Like, if you bumped into Don Cheadle on the studio lot, did you try to free him? How deep does your method go?”

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Before launching a musical, star-studded segment, the emcee also poked fun at the Golden Globes' most talked-about speaker, Jodie Foster: "As I said, tonight’s ceremony is being watched by a close to a billion people worldwide, which is why Jodie Foster will be up here in a bit to ask for her privacy."

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This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Seth MacFarlane Jokes About Rihanna, Chris Brown "Violence" in Oscars Opening Monologue