The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2018–2019
The Oscars had no host — Kevin Hart stepped down two months out
Announced as host on Dec 4, old tweets resurfaced, he quit on Dec 6 — and the hostless show drew more viewers than the hosted one.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences · ABC · Kevin Hart (would-be host) · 2018-12-06
What happened
On December 4, 2018, Kevin Hart announced he would host the 91st Academy Awards. Two days later, after old anti-gay tweets and stand-up material resurfaced, he announced he was stepping down, apologizing for 'insensitive words from my past.' The Academy itself never commented publicly on the episode.
With the ceremony two months away, the producers chose not to replace him. In February, ABC's entertainment president confirmed the show would go on without a host — the first hostless Oscars since 1989, and only the second in the ceremony's history.
The risk paid in ratings: the hostless telecast drew 29.6 million viewers on February 24, 2019, up 11.7 percent from the 26.5 million of the previous year's ceremony — an audience rebound for a show that had been setting record lows.
Why it happened
- A hosting announcement is a two-day bet: the gig was booked on December 4 and gone by December 6, with no time for the story to be managed before the decision had to be made.
- The Academy's silence became a decision: with no statement from the organization, Hart's exit stood as the whole story and no replacement was ever announced.
- Going hostless turned the risk into the show: skipping the host removed the personality bet entirely, and the broadcast then out-rated the hosted edition of the year before.
The lesson
A booking made on December 4 was gone by December 6 — and the ceremony the Academy saved by staying silent then drew more viewers than the hosted year before.
Aftermath
The 91st Oscars aired without a host on February 24, 2019 and drew 29.6 million viewers, up 11.7 percent year on year. The Academy has not publicly explained its handling of the episode, and Hart has not hosted the ceremony since. The hostless format returned in 2021, when the pandemic-era show again aired without a single host.
Sources
- Deadline — Kevin Hart Confirms He's Hosting The Oscars, 4 Dec 2018
- Variety — Kevin Hart Steps Down as Oscar Host, 6 Dec 2018
- NPR — Oscars Will Not Be Hosted For The First Time Since 1989, 5 Feb 2019
- Variety — Oscars 2019 Ratings Rise From Last Year to 29.6 Million Viewers, 25 Feb 2019
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