…to host the 95th Oscar telecast, I mean? Did the producers even reach out in this regard? Maybe not, but Jimmy Kimmel is fine.
I’ll always associate Kimmel with what many of us feel was The Greatest Oscar Finale in Hollywood History — the ballot screw-up between Moonlight and La La land. I love watching the unedited footage of that snafu, and in my book Kimmel handled the chaos fairly well.
Is Kimmel’s brand of humor too woke? The right thinks so because he’s brutally lambasted Trump for so many years, but I’ve never felt that he was especially guilty on that score.
I also think the Oscar producers tapped Kimmel because they wanted to close the books on the Oscar slap. I also think they wanted to signal that the Oscars don’t necessarily have to be the Anglo Apology BIPOC awards.
Kimmel hosting again is a gesture that says to viewers “okay, we’re pulling back a bit…we’re reaching back to the vibe and attitudes of early ’17, or before the woke virus took over. Quality is quality and may the most gifted or politically popular contenders win, but we’re easing up on the white guilt or white apology factor.”