It has been a whirlwind 24 hour news cycle for the Oscars. First The Hollywood Reporter published a report that no one wants to host the show because it’s a thankless job. That article is irrelevant now, except for some prime shade at Neil Patrick Harris. Then reports started appearing that if he can fix scheduling with an upcoming movie, Kevin Hart is the designated host. Hart himself confirmed he got the job on Instagram a couple of hours later. Then almost immediately there was backlash because of homophobic jokes that he had made in the past. He has said in interviews after he was taken to task about the jokes that he won’t make them again.
This will mark Hart’s first time at the helm of the biggest show business awards ceremony, though he has previously hosted ceremonies like the BET Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards, and the MTV Movie and TV Awards. He has been lobbying for the job for many years now. Frankly I have no opinion on Hart as a comedian and host. I have not seen any of his films and the few times I saw him as a presenter on the Oscars he seemed to have lots of energy though most of his jokes were about being short. Hopefully he can find a few other topics for this year’s big show. I think that he is a safe choice for The Academy because he’s both a comedian and a movie star (his movies make money), though definitely more exciting than another late night network star.
Tell us what you think about Hart as Oscar host?