A joke about Leonardo DiCaprio directed at Zendaya during the 2022 Emmy Awards became one of the most discussed moments of the night Monday (Sept. 12).
It began innocently enough when host Kenan Thompson shouted her out, saying, “Zendaya’s here from Euphoria, hello Zendaya!”
“Zendaya just turned 26 last week,” Thompson continued. “Happy birthday, happy birthday. 26 is a weird age in Hollywood. I mean, you’re young enough to play a high school student, but you’re too old to date Leonardo DiCaprio.”
Watch the joke below:
“Zendaya just turned 26, happy birthday. 26 is a weird age in Hollywood. Young enough to play a high school student, but too old to date Leonardo DiCaprio.” – Kenan Thompson at the #Emmys pic.twitter.com/tnbJ3XtZ1m
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 13, 2022
As the crowd laughed, Zendaya hilariously covered her face.
When the moment made its rounds on the internet, someone pointed out that the joke was even more ironic since Zendaya once “thirsted” over DiCaprio during an appearance on Ellen in 2016.
The funny clip shows her choosing DiCaprio over and over again over other handsome stars such as Michael B. Jordan, Harry Styles and Justin Bieber.
this is even funnier when you remember this happened 😭 https://t.co/ZRN1Vu0MTg pic.twitter.com/dIWSZeqVHL
— kyky babygirl inc 🇬🇭 (@kimkimdaya) September 13, 2022
Recently, DiCaprio’s track record for dating young women in their early 20s resurfaced after he broke up with model Camila Morrone, who turned 25 in June.
The star is known for his history of repeatedly dating women between the ages of 18 and 25 — and never any older.
There’s even a graph that shows DiCaprio’s age going up while his ex-girlfriends’ ages plateau at 25.
“Zendaya just turned 26, happy birthday. 26 is a weird age in Hollywood. Young enough to play a high school student, but too old to date Leonardo DiCaprio.” – Kenan Thompson at the #Emmys pic.twitter.com/tnbJ3XtZ1m
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 13, 2022
In 2020, Ricky Gervais made a variation of the same joke to DiCaprio’s face in the audience.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, nearly three hours long. Leonardo DiCaprio attended the premiere, and by the end, his date was too old for him,” Gervais said as DiCaprio laughed from the crowd.
On Monday Zendaya won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Rue Bennett on Euphoria, making her the first Black woman to win the award twice, and the youngest two-time winner of any Emmy in history.