For anyone who was still holding out hope for a surprise announcement of a new host for this year's Oscars ceremony, you can give it a rest now.
Monday, on the same day as the annual Oscars nominee luncheon, an Academy spokesperson confirmed that this year's broadcast would indeed be hostless. As TV Line and others have pointed out, this marks the first official word from the Academy on the matter of post-Kevin Hart hosting woes. As you'll recall, Hart—whose face can still be seen on Oscars promo material across parts of Los Angeles—was originally tapped to handle 2019 hosting duties until the resurfacing of old homophobic tweets kicked off a back-and-forth that ended with the comedian outright stepping down.
Charlize Theron, Awkwafina, Jennifer Lopez, Tessa Thompson, Brie Larson, Daniel Craig, Tina Fey, and more were also announced Monday as among the presenters chosen to presumably carry some extra on-camera duties this year due to the hostlessness. However, even the presenter selection process is the subject of much controversy.
In January, the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG)—whose own 2019 awards ceremony included winners Mahershala Ali, Emily Blunt, and more— criticized the Academy for allegedly trying to pressure potential presenters with exclusivity suggestions.
"This self-serving intimidation of SAG-Aftra members is meant to limit their opportunities to be seen and honor the work of their fellow artists throughout the season," a SAG rep said at the time, according toThe Guardian.
The 2019 Oscars ceremony goes down live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles Feb. 24.
