The 10 Worst Oscars Hosts of All Time
By April Jones
Chris Rock
When it comes to second chances, comedian and actor Chris Rock made the most of his when he hosted the Oscars in 2016. Rock redeemed himself after a near-disastrous evening of hosting back in 2005. Looking back, Rock was ahead of the times with his remarks about the lack of diversity in Hollywood, especially when it comes to acknowledging black actors, actresses, and filmmakers. It makes sense that he would have been invited back in 2016 to make up for the controversy from the previous year.
In 2005, however, Hollywood — and American moviegoers in general — weren’t ready for Rock’s brutal honesty. When he joked about Nicole Kidman’s seemingly fake enthusiasm after losing to Halle Berry, it made the audience uncomfortable. In his monologue, he pointed out that not all good movies get nominated for Oscars and not all Oscar nominated movies are good. It was the elephant in the room, but the elephant has been there for so long that Hollywood has just become used to it.
To say that Chris Rock was one of the worst Oscar hosts is somewhat misleading. It wasn’t his hosting that was bad. It just wasn’t well-received by an audience that wasn’t ready. It took them ten years to finally say “Okay, we’ll hear you out now” as shown by his successful return to the Oscars in 2016.