Josh Gad turned down hosting this year’s Academy Awards. On Wednesday, Gad took to Twitter to reveal that he had been given the chance to host the upcoming Oscars, but didn’t feel the opportunity was right for him. In his tweet, he went on to explain that while he loves that the show is trying to do something different this year, he doesn’t agree with the decision to not televise multiple award categories. Gad writes that he feels the sidelined awards deserve a chance to shine as well.
“Had the chance to cohost this year’s Oscars & passed because it didn’t feel right for me,” Gad wrote. “I believe this team has the right intentions & I love that they want 2 do something new & different. I trust them. I would however rethink sidelining the craft awards as they deserve 2 shine.”
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Earlier this week, it was announced that eight total awards will not be televised during the Academy Award telecast this year. Instead, these awards will take place an hour before the actual Oscars ceremony inside the Dolby Theater. The awards that will be presented prior to the celebration are the awards for documentary short, editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short, and sound. The awards will be recorded and edited for the broadcast, but other details about how this approach will work have not been revealed.
News of this shift has led to some industry backlash. According to The Hollywood Reporter, numerous associations have expressed disappointment with the decision to separate out these eight award categories, including the American Cinema Editors board of directors who said in a statement that the decision sends a problematic message.
“We are deeply disappointed by the Academy’s decision to alter the way certain categories, including film editing, will be presented in the Oscars telecast,” the statement reads. “It sends a message that some creative disciplines are more vital than others. Nothing could be further from the truth and all who make movies know this. As a group of artists wholly dedicated to advancing the art and prestige of film editing, we passionately believe that editing — and all other creative disciplines that are part of the collaborative art of filmmaking — should be treated equally. Our contributions to that collaboration may sometime appear invisible but they are undeniably. We hope that film editors and other artists affected by this change will be honored and celebrated with the passion, dignity and inclusion they deserve.”
It’s worth noting that the Academy planned something similar in 2019. At that time, they announced four categories of awards would be presented during commercial breaks and then the taped replays shared later in the show, but that decision was reversed due to criticism. It remains to be seen if the backlash about this latest decision will lead to the Academy reversing this plan as well.
The 94th Academy Awards, hosted by Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall, will air on ABC on March 27th.
