After a Kevin Hart announced that he wouldn't host the Oscars because of his long track record of homophobic Tweeting, the Academy is reportedly having a tough time finding someone to replace him. According to what Variety calls a "top comedy agent," the people over the Academy are "freaking out." They're also worried about picking a late-night TV host because they're too "edgy." This fear of some of our most vanilla humourists is inexplicable, but does perhaps explain last years 19% dip in viewership for the show.
Another option, said the agent, is "a bunch of huge celebs, something SNL style, and buzzy people.” Although it's unclear what he means by "buzzy," my guess is it has something to do with how stoned James Franco was when he hosted the Oscars. “
Kevin Hart Tweeted recently as an apology for his previous tweets, saying that he has grown since the old ones went out:
Referring to Hart's sensitive, mature decision, the agent said: "my clients are bummed. They’re bummed Kevin didn’t stay the course and serve as an example. It dampens the experience, hopefully [the Academy] can pull it together so we can focus on the excitement.” See Hart's original Tweets below: