Jimmy Kimmel has revealed exactly why he has turned down the opportunity to host the Oscars for the third year in a row.
The late night talk show host appeared on the latest episode of the Politickin' podcast, and spoke about the reasoning behind his decision not to host the Academy Awards again, among other things.
Kimmel hosted the Oscars in 2017, 2018, 2023 and 2024, but it looks like four time is where he draws the line for the film industry's primary awards show.
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Last time the comedian took to the Oscars stage, he made headlines for controversial comments about Robert Downey Jr's past drug use, the Academy's snubbing of Barbie director Greta Gerwig for awards and more.
But he's passing up on the opportunity to make it five, and it's all for one huge reason - arguably the thing that defines his career.
“When I’m focused on the Oscar, I’m less focused on the show,” he highlighted.
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The 56-year-old simply doesn't want to take his eye off the ball when it comes to his late night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!
He added: “And I just decided I didn’t want to deal with that this year. It was just too much last year,
“You wind up pushing everything off ‘til after the Oscars, and you have to do everything you promised to do after the Oscars,” the comedian revealed.
“I did two years and it went well, I did another two years, it went well. I figured I’d take a little break," he continued.
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“I’m all in when it comes to something like the Oscars. I think about it in the morning and at night, and when I have ideas I want to work on them and then my nightly show seems like a nuisance,” the former Comedy Central show host said.
Kimmel explained that all of his show's writers ultimately have to turn their attention to writing for the Oscars, which proves as a distraction for almost nothing, literally - the comedian said that the hosting job essentially pays 'nothing'.
He revealed previously that he was paid just $15,000 (£11,700) for his work on this year's ceremony and though it was 'fun' and it felt 'good when it went well', it just isn't worth it.
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“But for me, it just was too much to do it three years in a row. So you have full creative control over that, pretty much. I mean, it’s part of the deal. They don’t pay you, but they also don’t interfere,” Kimmel admitted.
So with the Oscars' first choice passing up the opportunity, who could be up to host the awards?
ABC had reportedly made an offer to John Mulaney at the same time as Kimmel, but he too passed on the opportunity.
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The late night show host explained to the Politickin’ group that he thinks that there is enough talent out there to pick a good host out for the Oscars, but thinks that a lot of them, like him, don't want the demanding, high-pressure gig.
“You know, it takes a lot of time. And a lot of the people who you think, oh, yeah, that person would be great. He’d be great. They know they’d be great," he began to explain.
"They just don’t want to do it. And especially when you think somebody’s going to be great, the only thing they could do is prove you wrong when they host the Oscars,
"So they say it’s a thankless job. And I wouldn’t necessarily describe it like that, because when it goes well, it isn’t. But if it’s not, it’s a tough spot to be in," Kimmel concluded.
Topics: Entertainment, Jimmy Kimmel, Oscars, TV and Film, Podcast, US News
Joshua Nair