As the 2019 Oscars saga continues to unravel, there is at least one person who we will not see as the host.
Variety reports that during the New York Film Critics Circle awards on Monday (Jan. 7), Chris Rock stated that he has no interest in hosting the award ceremony. While presenting the best first film award to director Bo Burnham for Eight Grade, Rock, who has hosted the Oscars twice in the past (2005 and 2016), first jested by saying "if it was five years ago, I could say something really offensive and funny right now, but I can't do that anymore so...heyyyy!"
Continuing his improvised bit, he noticed Steve Martin and suggested that he should be the one to host the upcoming Oscars. "Steve Martin should host the Oscars. Because I'm not doing it, goddammit! You're not getting me."
"Getting me" is most likely in reference to the incident involving fellow comedian Kevin Hart. If you haven't been following, the controversy surrounding the 91st Academy awards began last month when Kevin Hart was slated to assume the role of host. Immediately after the announcement, he was chastised by LGBTQ+ supporters after homophobic tweets resurfaced.
The weeks that followed were filled with many events, including his decision to step down from the hosting position (due to the Academy's request for his apology); his appearance on Ellen (where she informed him that the opportunity may still be available to him; he "re-evaluated" his decision afterwards); his apology to the LGBTQ+ community on Twitter; his decision to not host the Oscars (again); and, most recently, his apology to the LGBTQ+ community (again), this time on SiriusXM radio.
As a replacement host hasn't been decided on yet, there were reports of the Academy exploring a host-less option for the ceremony.
