If some members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences — the organization behind the Oscars — have their way, February’s ceremony won’t…
If some members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences — the organization behind the Oscars — have their way, February’s ceremony won’t have a host.
“Dump the host! Make the show two hours! Kill the opening number, cut all the skits,” said one. “That’s your ratings ticket.”
“It’s on the table,” a second AMPAS member told The Post.
The uproar comes after comedian Kevin Hart, 39, announced he would no longer be hosting the 2019 Oscars in February after GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and other LGBTQ supporters called out homophobic and anti-gay jokes he had tweeted as recently as 2011.
Now, some Hollywood sources say the high-profile position is not worth the potential risk to reputation.
“We don’t encourage our clients to [host the Oscars] anymore,” said one prominent agent. “Every host gets picked apart by vultures.
“The job’s become a lose-lose for everyone, and Hollywood’s finally figured it out,” the agent added. “Big stars have lots to lose. New ones don’t get ratings.”
It’s not the first time the Academy Awards have been hit with controversy. In 2011, Eddie Murphy stepped down as host in solidarity with Brett Ratner, his producer for the show. Ratner, who last year was further tarnished in a #MeToo scandal in which he was accused by six women of sexual assault, resigned from the Oscars just months before the ceremony, after he publicly joked “rehearsal is for f-gs” at a film Q&A.
