Ever since the Kevin Hart . . . unpleasantness, the nation has been without an Oscar host for this year’s awards show, leaving America in dire peril. Seriously, without someone (preferably not a defensive, entitled homophobe) to ride herd over three-plus hours of unnecessary montages, musical numbers, and the very occasional memorable acceptance speech, the Academy Awards presentation could turn into some sort of bloated, middlebrow evening of watery self-congratulation. Or something. Luckily, there have been some interesting names tossed around (Tiffany Haddish, John Mulaney, Maya Rudolph, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kumail Nanjiani, um, nobody), and one guy whose name came up on two separate Tuesday late-night appearances, Ken Jeong.
On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert asked his guest—and four-time Oscar host herself—Whoopi Goldberg who she thought would fit the bill, and she went with Jeong without hesitation. Explaining that nobody’s called her for the gig, Goldberg told Colbert, “I want Ken to do it.” Colbert did ask “Ken who?” at first, but quickly agreed the former Señor Chang would do great job, while Goldberg touted the fact that the Crazy Rich Asians star would, in addition to being a very funny guy who loves the movies, be the first Asian-American host of the show, ever. “It would be a whole series of firsts,” explained Goldberg.
Well, coincidentally or not, Jeong was a guest on Late Night With Seth Meyers on Tuesday, where the actor, standup comic, and perpetual scene-stealer fielded Meyers’ question about the job by making a series of pensive noises, standing for emphasis, and telling Meyers, “I was always taught, when you set goals, make sure you keep them very high.” Continuing, Jeong deadpanned, “If I do not become the host of the Oscars, I will consider not only by career but my life a failure.” (That even though Jeong’s got his first Netflix standup special, a holiday special, and that competition show where semi-famous people sing while wearing elaborate headgear coming up.) When Meyers joked that that might sound a little desperate to the Academy decision-makers, Jeong responded, “Seth, my whole career is desperate. That’s my brand.”
27 Comments
It’s rare anymore that i turn on the internet just to come by and drag some celebrity that I don’t even know…… but Ken Jeong is THE WORST. Ugh, His face is a guaranteed channel changer. He’s not funny at all and i legitimately can’t think of anyone more annoying. Fuck Ken Jeong.
You people and your various complaints.
I mean, I wouldn’t go as far as to say “fuck him”, but yeah, he’s not my cup of tea either.
This take is Senor Chang lubing up to go into the air vents bad.
yeah, but is it “rare anymore”?
I used to think he was a nice guy but he portrays a pretty mean judge on the Gong Show reboot. Whether this is a”character “ or not he comes off as petty and annoying.
Jeong sucks. He was fine for like the two minutes he was on The Office and the five minutes he was in Hangover, but he is not funny and got overused.
Love Ken Jeong. Let’s do this.
Well, I’ll do it, for half the price, and I’ll keep the entire show under an hour.
I can host it for a quarter price, wrap it up in a tight 24, and cater if you don’t mind Round Table.
Hart apologized for years-old tweets that, yes, were offensive, but which did not reveal an actual bigoted worldview. Can he really not atone?
Since nobody will be happy with the Oscars until they’re as “funny” and “edgy” as they were in back in the day, let’s just get an old person to do it. How about a tag team like they did a lot back in the day. Carol Burnett, Diana Ross, and Jane Fonda, sure. All the dudes from back then are dead.
How about Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks? Sure, in their 90s, but they’re still around.
Since nobody will be happy with the Oscars until they’re as “funny” and “edgy” as they were in back in the dayWhen was that, exactly? The Billy Crystal era?
This may be a stretch, but Todd Barry could probably fit this into his schedule.
the dry soda guy bit from his crowdwork special made me laugh so hard, I’d be curious to see what he’d do with the audience at the Oscars
Holy crap that bit is amazing
Isn’t being a homophobe on Twitter kind of the same thing as appearing in a bunch of homophobic movies? I mean Hangover 2 is basically a filmed hate crime.
Any comedian that takes this gig is absolutely turning their back on their industry. Period.
Yes to Ken Jeong! Yes to Ken Jeong! This man is comic energy incarnate! Please industry insiders, listen to the cries of myself and Whoopi Goldberg: make Ken Jeong our next Oscars host!
Should be Tim & Eric.
When he introduces the In Memoriam segment he can say
Be the first physician to host as well, despite the rumors that Johnny Carson used to be a back-alley abortion doctor.Rumors I just started a second ago.
After that cheap Asian stereotype he played on The Hangover?
“defensive, entitled homophobe” What in the world are you talking about
That even though Jeong’s got his first Netflix standup special, a holiday special, and that competition show where semi-famous people sing while wearing elaborate headgear coming up.Also, that whole being a medical doctor thing. But what is saving lives compared to being famous, right?