Jimmy Kimmel Reveals How Much He’s Getting Paid For Hosting The Oscars

Jimmy Kimmel has revealed exactly how much he is being paid to host the Academy Awards in February, admitting that it wasn’t quite as much as he expected.

During his appearance on KROQ’s Kevin & Bean Show on Wednesday morning, via Fox News, Jimmy Kimmel was asked about his upcoming hosting gig for the Oscars. During their discussion Jimmy Kimmel decided to reveal that he’s getting paid the grand sum of $15,000 for the position. Jimmy Kimmel insinuated that he believed this was a low amount as he joked, “I think it’s illegal to pay nothing.”

It was then suggested that previous hosts might have been paid more to host, and that the Academy was trying to save some money by bringing in Jimmy Kimmel and then undercutting him financially. But the late-night talk show host was quick to nip this speculation in the bud, insisting that the likes of Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres, and Billy Crystal were paid the same as him, as he insisted, “That’s what they told me.”

Of course there are plenty of individuals out there that would love to be paid $15,000 for a couple of hours work, especially since Jimmy Kimmel will have a formidable writing staff assisting him to make jokes for the night. However, when you consider that Oscar nominees are given a swag bag that’s packed to the brim with $232,000 worth of goodies, and Jimmy Kimmel will be meticulously analysed for his performance, which includes making fun of some of the most popular performers in the world, it’s easy to see why he might be a little peeved at his pay.

Jimmy Kimmel clearly wasn’t too sure whether he should have revealed exactly how much he’s getting paid for hosting the Oscars, as in the immediate aftermath of his declaration he confessed, “I’m not sure I was supposed to reveal this. But nobody told me not to. I consider this their fault.”

That didn’t stop Jimmy Kimmel from continuing with his tirade of jokes about being asked to host the Oscars, as he confessed that he was rather taken aback when the Academy approached him with the offer, especially since the host for the Oscars is usually revealed months in advance. Instead, Jimmy Kimmel was announced as the host of the 2017 Oscars with only weeks to spare. Jimmy Kimmel added, “They asked like 14 people and they all said no and then there was me. I absolutely was surprised.”

This isn’t the first time that Jimmy Kimmel has poked fun at his upcoming day of work. During his opening monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last Monday, he also quipped about the fact that he probably got the gig because his show is shot right across the road from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Jimmy Kimmel joked,

“The producers and the Academy went through a long list of names, and in the end, they decided that — since I am already right across the street from where they do the show — I was the closest person to host.”

Meanwhile, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the Academy president, has been discussing the qualities that made Jimmy Kimmel the perfect choice to host the 89th Academy Awards. She told E! News,

“Jimmy has the qualities of all the great hosts. He knows who he is, he knows the audience and he knows how to captain a ship with many moving parts. We’re thrilled he has agreed to host our show.”

We’ll get to see if Jimmy Kimmel and producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd can live up to this promise when the Academy Awards unfolds on February 26, 2017. The nominations for the awards will be unveiled a few weeks earlier on Tuesday, January 24.

[Featured Image by Getty/Kevin Winter]