The 10 Worst Oscars Hosts of All Time
By April Jones
Whoopi Goldberg
When Whoopi Goldberg received the distinction of being the first woman to host the Oscars alone, it was an honor she had deserved. (Remember, this was way before her years on The View.) Goldberg was at the top of her game after appearing in movies like Ghost and Sister Act. Comic Relief, which she co-hosted with Robin Williams and Billy Crystal, was in full swing. She seemed like an obvious choice, and she delivered the comedic performance that Oscar audiences had come to expect after four years of Billy Crystal.
Fast forward to 1999 and Whoopi Goldberg is hosting for the third time. Maybe she’s sick of it by now, maybe she decided to try something a little different. Whatever was going on simply wasn’t working. At one point, it was clear to her that it wasn’t, and she remarked to the crowd “You know, I might not be doing this show again, so let’s just go right to the edge and go over.”
First, there was the opening sequence in which she appeared dressed as Queen Elizabeth I, calling herself “the African queen.” This was all supposed to be in reference to two movies set in Elizabethan times that were up for awards that year — Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth — but it seemed like a lot of work for a bit that wasn’t all that funny. It was just one of many costumes she donned that night, none of them turning out to be worth the effort. Many of her jokes throughout the evening were bordering on mean, making it seem like it was a roast or open mic night instead of an awards ceremony.