John Legend And Chrissy Teigen Are ‘Not Ruling Out’ Oscar Hosting Duties
John Legend and Chrissy Teigen have not ruled out hosting the 2019 Academy Awards (or Oscars, as they’re colloquially called), Pop Culture is reporting. The pair are also quick to add that they haven’t been asked, either.
The singer/songwriter Legend — and his wife, former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Teigen — have had their names come up as potential hosts for the 2019 awards show ever since the originally scheduled host, comedian Kevin Hart, dropped out.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Legend said that he doesn’t want the “thankless job,” but that he’s not ruling it out either.
“I feel like it’s a thankless job. Nobody really wins from hosting the Oscars. It doesn’t really end up great for anybody… I’m not saying we’re ruling it out.”
And while John was obviously speaking only for himself, Teigen has also said that she hasn’t been asked — nor is she ruling out the gig if she is asked. Back on December 7, Teigen joked on Twitter that her phone hasn’t been ringing.
“I have not been asked to host the oscars yet so at least they aren’t THAT desperate.”
Legend, unlike Teigen, actually has some Oscar credentials. Back in 2015, he won the Best Original Song award for “Glory,” which he performed with rapper Common. The song appeared in the 2014 film Selma.
.@JohnLegend not ruling out hosting the #Oscars https://t.co/U0gDAOOaJx pic.twitter.com/EU7a7GFqtz
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 18, 2018
The 2019 Academy Awards, scheduled for Sunday, February 24, 2019, are currently without a scheduled host. The Academy was forced to re-think its decision to tap Hart to host after old, homophobic tweets surfaced, as Kevin explained.
“My team calls me, ‘Oh my God, Kevin, everyone’s upset by tweets you did years ago.’ Guys, I’m nearly 40 years old. If you don’t believe that people change, grow, evolve as they get older, I don’t know what to tell you.”
Hart says that he was offered the chance to remain on as host if he apologized, something that he says he “passed on” doing.
“The reason why I passed is because I’ve addressed [the issue of the old tweets] several times… I’ve said where the rights and wrongs were. I’ve said who I am now versus who I was then. I’ve done it.”
With Hart gone, several names have come up as possible replacements. Teigen herself has suggested Ellen DeGeneres, Dwayne Johnson, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Legend says that he favors Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, or Wanda Sykes.
There is no word, as yet, on any official replacement for Hart.
