Ever since Jimmy Kimmel turned down next year’s Oscars hosting gig because he wanted to “take a little break,” Hollywood has been buzzing with potential replacement ideas. Will the academy go back to a former emcee like Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, Hugh Jackman or Billy Crystal? Or will somebody new be given the reigns to the Academy Awards? Well, RuPaul Charles has decided to channel TV’s Deborah Vance by publicly tossing his own name into the ring. “I’m right here, bitch!” he proudly declared while subbing for a vacationing Jimmy Kimmel on a recent episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
The moment occurred during a comedy segment called “Gayer News” on Monday, August 19 — watch below at the 10:06 mark. In a classic newscaster voice, RuPaul stated, “Jimmy Kimmel has announced he will not host next year’s Oscars. The academy is still looking for an emcee with hosting experience, pop culture knowledge and the love of entertainment. In Gayer News …” He then turned to the camera and stated in a more flamboyant voice, “I’m right here, bitch!”
RuPaul, aka the Queen of Drag, knows a thing or two about hosting. He has won a whopping eight Emmy Awards in a row (a record) for hosting his popular competition program “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The entertainer hosted “Saturday Night Live” to great acclaim in 2020. And he’s been the go-to guest host for “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in recent years whenever a substitute was needed. So if Kimmel has any sway at all with his friends at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, perhaps RuPaul actually does have a realistic shot of hosting the 97th Academy Awards?
Just imagine a ceremony full of wigs and high heels where presenters stopped saying “The Oscar goes to” after opening the envelope, and instead proclaimed, “Shantay, you stay!” and, “You’re a winner, baby!” And hey, RuPaul actually has more of a history with the film industry than other recent Oscar hosts — his movie credits include “Trolls Band Together,” “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar” and “The Brady Bunch Movie.”
At the upcoming 2024 Emmys, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is nominated for 10 total bids: competition series, host, directing, casting, production design, choreography, picture editing and sound mixing for the parent show, and unstructured program and picture editing for “Untucked.” To promote the nominations, RuPaul recently served as the DJ for a sickening roller skating Emmy FYC event in Hollywood — read all about it.
Kimmel hosted film’s biggest night in 2017, ’18, ’23 and ’24, but as he announced on the “Politickin’” podcast with Gavin Newsom, Marshawn Lynch and Doug Hendrickson, “I just decided I didn’t want to deal with that this year.” Per the New York Post, he added, “It was just too much last year. You wind up pushing everything off till after the Oscars, and then you have to do everything you promised to do after the Oscars, after the Oscars. I did two years, it went well. I did another two years, it went well. I figured I’d take a little break.”
Who do YOU hope hosts the 2025 Oscars on ABC? Is RuPaul your dream choice? Are you sad Jimmy Kimmel isn’t returning? Be sure to sound off down in the comments section.
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