An Oscars moment is backfiring after comedian Kumail Nanjiani made a joke about Schindler’s List during Sunday’s award show. Nanjiani referenced the Holocaust-era film to little applause or laughter from inside the crowd at the Oscars, leaving viewers shocked by the reaction.
According to a report in Daily Mail, during the award show, presenter Kumail Nanjiani made a joke about famous films with long titles referencing Schindler’s List, the 1993 film depicting the Holocaust. During one of the Oscars’ most powerful reminders of the Nazi genocide, little laughter could be heard from the crowd as cameras panned to a room full of celebrities, who appeared awkward.
Schindler’s List is a film based on the life of German businessman Oskar Schindler, who is credited with saving over 1, 300 Jewish people from death in the Holocaust. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Schindler’s List is remembered as one of the most impactful films about Nazi Germany.
Oscars presenter Kumail Ali Nanjiani slammed for Schindler’s List joke https://t.co/pc5b0HeMX1
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) March 16, 2026
The Oscars moment occurred when Kumail Nanjiani walked on stage to present Best Live Action Short Film at Sunday’s awards ceremony. Kumail Nanjiani began kidding about movies with long titles that could be improved if they were shortened.
As he introduced the Oscar’s category, Nanjiani went into a list of shortened movie titles. In one joke he referred to the Oscar-winning Holocaust film Schindler’s List as “Schindler Post-It.”
What followed Kumail Nanjiani’s joke about Schindler’s List was a weird moment at the Oscars. The laughter did not seem to ripple through the crowd in the auditorium and many immediately took to social media to comment on the apparent lack of response.
In “Schindler’s List” (1993), when real life survivor Mila Pfefferberg met Ralph Fiennes on set, she began to tremble in fear because he reminded her too much of the real Amon Göth.
pic.twitter.com/24Zum3r5V0
— Best Movie Moments 🍿 (@BestMovieMom) February 25, 2026
Seconds after the joke cameras scanned the room at the Oscars showing guests who seemed unsure of how to react. Instead of booming applause that many jokes at the Oscars receive the Kumail Nanjiani Schindler’s List joke reaction was underwhelming.
Nanjiani then segued into other movie titles as part of his joke but laughter never came. Kumail Nanjiani’s Schindler’s List joke has since become one of the most controversial moments from this year’s Academy Awards.
Kumail Nanjiani is a Pakistani-American actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and stand-up comedian. Born in Karachi, Pakistan in 1978, he moved to the United States in his early twenties to attend college at Grinnell College in Iowa. Nanjiani initially pursued computer science and philosophy in school but later switched his focus to comedy. After college, he started doing stand-up comedy and became a fixture in American comedy.
He rose to prominence playing Dinesh Chugtai on the HBO television series Silicon Valley from 2014 to 2019. He then wrote and starred in the hit 2017 romantic comedy film The Big Sick, which was about his relationship with his wife, writer Emily V. Gordon. Nanjiani received critical acclaim for the film and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards. In recent years, Nanjiani has started to land roles in major blockbuster films, such as the Marvel film Eternals in 2021.
The stark reminder of the Holocaust is what left viewers of the Oscars shocked by the room’s reaction. Clips of Kumail Nanjiani making the joke about Schindler’s List have since been posted online.
The Oscars are no stranger to political speeches or moments that many audience members show support for. During these moments it is typical for the room to break out into loud applause.
This was not the case after Nanjiani’s joke about Schindler’s List. After what some are calling an anti-Semitic joke at the Oscars, there was silence. The room seemed to quickly forget the comment and moved on before another category was handed out.
