91st Academy Awards air without a host

Janessa Hammers
Staff Writer

This year at the 91st Academy Awards, for the second time in the show’s history there was no host. The first time the Oscars were “hostless” was over 30 years ago in 1989. To the internet’s dismay, the show announced that to be more politically correct they would not have a host in the awards show, even though hosts are usually the ones to make or break viewership. The choice against having a host for the show inspired Twitter to launch an attack on not only the Oscars, but the overly righteous attitudes in Hollywood itself. 

Several tweets spoke of being sick of the political correctness permeating our media wanting people to speak their opinions freely again without fearing public humiliation over the internet. Take Kevin Hart; he was supposed to be the host for the Oscars this year until the boundless internet scrounged up some of his homophobic jokes from decades ago and heavily criticized him for it. In the end, the backlash made him back out of the host spot, as he explained, “I did not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing, talented artists.” 

In an attempt to find a new host, the Oscars reportedly asked the likes of Dwayne Johnson and Whoopi Goldberg, both of whom declined and I do not blame them because taking a hosting gig puts you under that much public scrutiny. 

Speaking of being in the public eye, Lady Gaga and Bradly Cooper preformed together and were not shy in showing their flaming chemistry. The internet and I are now waiting for Cooper to split up with Irina Shayk so that he and Gaga can have musical babies together. 

Last year in 2018, the Oscars faced the lowest viewership ratings in the show’s history, so this year they wanted to make some changes to make the show more appealing to viewers. 

The main problem with awards shows like the Oscars is that people don’t want to take the time to watch the whole show. In the age of streaming, why not binge watch your favorite show and watch the highlights of the awards show on YouTube the next morning.

Feature photo courtesy of the Associated Press.