Has Seth MacFarlane Sworn Off Hosting the Oscars Again?
Just days after his controversial duties at the Academy Awards, he suggests on Twitter that it may have been a one-time gig.
Is Seth MacFarlane washing his hands of the Oscars?
Just days after hosting the 85th annual Academy Awards, the Family Guy creator may have put to rest the question of whether or not he'd take his turn overseeing the kudos-fest again.
"No way. Lotta fun to have done it, though," he tweeted in response to a question from one of his nearly 3.8 million followers early Tuesday morning.
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Despite an audience of 40 million viewers and a 19 percent boost among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic -- up year-over-year in both metrics -- MacFarlane's turn as host was a polarizing one.
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"I've always gotten a kick out of MacFarlane's equal-opportunity offensive humor and like Family Guy and Ted a lot, but last night he was like an all-star who struck out a lot and batted .167 in his first World Series," The Hollywood Reporter's chief film critic Todd McCarthy wrote. "Notice how, during the second half of the show, he did virtually nothing but routinely introduce the next presenters. And from now on, I will like him less because of his John Wilkes Booth joke, which someone should have nixed ahead of time."
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On the other hand, THR's chief TV critic Tim Goodman hailed his musically inclined turn at the helm of the annual event. "MacFarlane was relatively tame if you know anything at all about his canon, and he was respectful through and through. As a guy who can actually sing and has recorded a successful album (fueling more jealousy and backlash from his detractors), his pick was more spot-on than anyone gave the Academy credit for. But they did get lucky. He didn't give up, like Franco. He took the job extremely seriously and put himself out there. Ultimately, he excelled at balance."
Thus far, the Anti-Defamation League on Monday slammed MacFarlane and the Academy for its Ted-themed segment, claiming the bit perpetuated anti-Semitic stereotypes.
"While we have come to expect inappropriate 'Jews control Hollywood' jokes from Seth MacFarlane, what he did at the Oscars was offensive and not remotely funny," the ADL wrote in its statement. "It only reinforces stereotypes which legitimize anti-Semitism. It is sad and disheartening that the Oscars awards show sought to use anti-Jewish stereotypes for laughs."
Emails to MacFarlane's rep requesting comment were not immediately returned.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
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