And the host of the Oscars is…
Written by News on 07/02/2019
The Oscars will not have a host this year, for the first time in three decades.
The decision was made after US actor and comedian Kevin Hart stepped down as host after tweets he posted between 2009 and 2011 resurfaced, with offensive language towards the LGBT community.
Karey Burke, president of ABC entertainment, which broadcasts the ceremony, said this year there will “just be presenters” instead of one person anchoring the evening.
Presenters include Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Jennifer Lopez and Tina Fey.
Ms Burke said: “Ironically, I have found that the lack of clarity around the Oscars has kept them in the conversation. The mystery is really compelling. People really care.”
She said the Academy is hoping to keep the ceremony shorter than three hours this year. It ran to nearly four hours in 2018, and also brought all-time low viewing figures of 26.5m in the US.
The last time there was no host at the Oscars was in 1989 when actor Rob Lowe performed a duet with Snow White – which he is reportedly still embarrassed about.
The Hollywood Reporter branded hosting the Oscars as “the worst job in town”.
The awards night has faced a series of controversies, like the #OscarsSoWhite campaign and the embarrassing mix-up in 2017 that led to the wrong film being named as winner of best picture.
(c) Sky News 2019: And the host of the Oscars is…
