Producers have announced that Jimmy Kimmel will return to host the Oscars for the third time – saying the star will be “ready for anything.”
The late-night American talk show host will appear at the awards show in March 2023, five years after he last took the helm.
Kimmel host for the first time Oscar prize 2017 – when he famously managed The final moments of chaos as La La Land incorrectly named best picture instead of the real winner, Moonlight – and then again in 2018, a few months before Hollywood’s #MeToo reckoning.
Kimmel was hosting when La La Land was announced as the 2017 Best Picture winner — even though Moonlight actually won. Image: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
“We are very pleased that Jimmy has scored a hat-trick on this global stage,” executive producers and presenters Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner said in a joint statement sent to Sky News. “We knew he was going to be fun and ready for anything.”
“Being invited to host the Oscars for the third time is either a huge honor or a trap,” joked Kimmel. “Anyway, I’m grateful the Academy asked me so quickly after everyone said no.”
Following Kimmel as host in 2018, the Oscars were held without a main host until this year’s ceremony — with Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes on stage.
The 2023 show will be the 95th Academy Awards.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Young said Kimmel would be the “perfect host.”
Molly McNearney is co-lead writer and executive producer on the star’s show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and she is married to Kimmel, who will also serve as executive producer on the show.
After years of declining ratings, this year’s ceremony did see an improvement, with 15.36 million viewers; however, that was compared to a record low in 2021 amid restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
How will Kimmel handle “slapgate”?
Image: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
The 2022 awards ceremony hit the headlines earlier this year for different reasons, because Will SmithNow infamous awards presenter Chris Rock gets a “slap in the face” on stage.
Smith was later banned from the Oscars for 10 years after winning Best Actor at the ceremony for his performance in “King Richard.”
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However, his latest film, Emancipation, set for release in December, tells the true story of “Peter the Whipped” who joined the Union Army after escaping from slavery in Louisiana in the 1860s. May play next year.
Oscar bosses say they’d love to get out of the controversy, but it would be odd if Kimmel took to the stage without mentioning it in some way.
The 95th Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on March 12 and will be broadcast live on ABC.