If any of your water cooler compatriots have been chin-wagging about this year's hostless Oscars ceremony, you're likely to have heard a thing or two about Kevin Hart stepping away as the host of this year's show. Word of Hart's move to abandon the time-honored gig hit news outlets toward the beginning of December, shortly after a series of old homophobic jokes made by Hart were unearthed and brought to the surface. Reluctant to apologize for cracks he'd made several years prior, Hart tweeted the following response to the outrage:
In the wake of Hart remaining unapologetic for his words and actions, the Academy reportedly presented him with an ultimatum: apologize and move forward, or stick to your guns and consider the opportunity null and void. Obviously, Hart chose the latter, leaving this year's ceremony without … well, a master of ceremonies, so to speak.
With all of that being said, what would think if I told you that the Oscars almost smelt what The Rock was cookin'? I know. The mere thought of it put a big ol' smile on my face, too. Let's try to reign in our excitement for just a moment so that I can tell you about how this came to be, shall we?
Yesterday, a Twitter user by the name of Dan Buffa tweeted the following question to Dwayne Johnson: If the Academy is so inclined to line up a great host for next year's Oscars, just pick @TheRock. Then, while many questions to big name celebrities often go unanswered, Johnson took it upon himself to respond with a surprising tidbit of Oscar-related info.
What? You mean to tell me that we almost had an Oscars ceremony hosted by Dwayne Johnson and it fell through? I'm officially calling shenanigans on this development! Quick, someone invent a time machine and re-arrange the production schedule for Sony's Jumanji sequel!
Oh, but there's more! Not long after the story of Johnson's near-hosting gig was made public, the box office behemoth responded to a story posted by Variety about the situation:
Alas, it looks as if this year's Oscars will have to soldier on without the help and charisma of Dwayne Johnson. In short, the world is a nightmare and this is why we can't have nice things. I'm just kidding. After all, ABC's Karey Burke has assured everyone that this year's Oscars will remain as "compelling" as ever, so that's got to count for something, right?
Either way, we won't have to wait long to find out, as The Oscars will air LIVE on ABC Sunday, February 24 at 8 p.m. ET. 5 p.m. PT.