John Legend Not Ruling Out Hosting the Oscars

John Legend said he and wife Chrissy Teigen haven’t ruled out hosting the Oscars.

“I feel like it’s a thankless job. Nobody really wins from hosting the Oscars,” Legend said at the Fred Segal Loves Ralph Lauren pop-up space on Monday. “It doesn’t really end up great for anybody … I’m not saying we’re ruling it out.”

He spoke at the shop’s “A Legendary Shopping Night” with his LVE wine and Teigen’s cookbook on hand, while his Christmas songs played at the Sunset Boulevard shop.

On Dec. 7, Teigen tweeted that she had not been asked to host the awards show and began naming suggestions like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ellen DeGeneres or Anne Hathaway and James Franco.  

“I like some of her suggestions. I thought they were cool,” Legend told The Hollywood Reporter. He added that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Wanda Sykes would be two of his picks for the job, but didn’t say whether the Academy has asked him to host.

The Academy initially tapped Kevin Hart as host of the upcoming Oscars, which sparked a widespread backlash after past tweets resurfaced of the comic actor using homophobic slurs. Hart eventually stepped down from the role on Dec. 6.

At first, Hart refused a demand from the Academy to apologize. He explained on social media that the Academy gave him an ultimatum to either apologize for the old posts or to step down from the position. After mounting pressure, Hart officially withdrew from the gig. 

The Academy has not yet named a new host for the Oscar ceremony, which is set to be held Feb. 24. Jimmy Kimmel hosted in 2018.

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