«The ‘Jenny the Donkey’ at the Oscars That Was Not From ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’

The 2023 Oscars welcomed some noteworthy first-time attendees on March 12: Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal, to name a few. But one attendee stood out from the pack - a donkey, who was apparently not who the event's host had claimed she was. Nonetheless, she enjoyed her first Oscars in style.

At the event, Jimmy Kimmel brought Jenny, a donkey wearing an emotional-support-animal vest, onto the stage. He explained that Jenny played an important role in "The Banshees of Inisherin" and was also a certified emotional-support donkey - or at least, that's what they told the airline to get her on the plane from Ireland. He then invited the audience to come up and give her a hug if they were feeling upset or anxious. Finally, he pointed out Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, two of Jenny's costars in the Oscar-nominated "The Banshees of Inisherin."

The scenes between Farrell and Jenny in the movie were widely praised, but it wasn't actually Jenny on stage with Kimmel. After filming was completed, the donkey was sent to a secure location, to live out her days away from commercial exploitation. Jenny's trainer, Megan Hines, explained that the location of the donkey is kept a secret in order to protect her from any potential mistreatment.

At the Oscars backstage, Martin McDonagh, director of "The Banshees of Inisherin", confirmed that the donkey wasn't the same one that had appeared in the film. He said, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, that "It wasn't Jenny. We would never have allowed that to occur". Kerry Condon, who was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in the motion picture, also said that it wasn't the real Jenny. She was quoted on the same outlet saying "No! All the way from Ireland? Of course not!".

"The Banshees of Inisherin" earned nine nominations, including categories such as best picture, best supporting actor for Gleeson and Barry Keoghan, as well as best actor for Farrell. Unfortunately, all these efforts did not bear any awards.

You can take a look at photos and videos of the Jenny stand-in's presence before.