Jimmy Kimmel has recently shared on the “Politickin'” podcast with California Governor Gavin Newsom, former NFL player Marshawn Lynch, and NFL agent Doug Hendrickson, his reasons for declining to host the Academy Awards for a fifth time next year.
Kimmel noted that juggling his responsibilities for the Oscars and his late-night show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” was challenging. “It’s hard and it’s a lot of work and the show suffers a little bit to be honest,” he said, emphasizing how his focus shifts more towards the Oscars, leading to less attention on his nightly show. “And I just decided I didn’t want to deal with that this year. It was just too much last year.”
Having hosted the event in 2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024, Kimmel expressed the difficulties in managing both roles simultaneously.
“You wind up pushing everything off till after the Oscars, and then you have to do everything you promised to do after the Oscars, after the Oscars,” he explained.
“I’m not good at balancing. I’m really not. It’s not one of my strengths,” Kimmel admitted. “I’m all in when it comes to something like the Oscars. I think about it in the morning and at night, and when I have ideas I want to work on them, and then my nightly show seems like a nuisance.”
He also mentioned that his late-night writers, who assist him with the Oscars, get distracted by the dual focus. “It’s fun to do, and it feels good when it went well, but, for me, it was just too much to do it three years in a row,” he remarked.
The 97th Academy Awards are scheduled for March 2, 2025, and a host has yet to be announced. Comedian John Mulaney is also reported to have declined the opportunity.
Reflecting on the demanding nature of the role, Kimmel noted, “and a lot of the people who you think, ‘That person would be great’… they know they’d be great. They just don’t want to do it.”
“They say it’s a thankless job,” he commented on the nature of hosting the Oscars. “I wouldn’t necessarily describe it like that, because when it goes well, it isn’t, but it’s a tough spot to be in.”
The nominees for the upcoming Oscars will be revealed on January 17, 2025.
