Jimmy Kimmel will reportedly not host the 2025 Oscars after declining to return for his fifth time. So far, the Academy has yet to find a replacement despite also offering the gig to John Mulaney.
A Puck report claimed that Kimmel was the first pick to return for the 97th Academy Awards. However, the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host turned down the hosting job.
IndieWire has reached out to Kimmel and Mulaney’s representatives to confirm. The Academy declined to comment.
Kimmel has hosted the show four times, including the last two consecutive years. “I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times,” Kimmel said when he was announced as host for the 2024 ceremony.
He emceed during both the Will Smith-Chris Rock debacle and the 2017 ceremony where the Best Picture winner snafu involved “La La Land” being incorrectly called instead of “Moonlight.”
Kimmel helped usher in a 13 percent increase in viewership from 2022 to 2023, making the Oscars the most-watched awards show in three years. Kimmel’s hosting gig also included working with his spouse Molly McNearney, one of the head writers and executive producers of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” McNearney was an executive producer of the 2023 and 2024 Academy Awards, joining the new team led by Katy Mullan and showrunner Raj Kapoor.
Kimmel has also hosted the Emmys for ABC three times; ABC is also the home to the Oscars.
The 2025 Academy Awards ceremony will air Sunday, March 2.
After Kimmel said no to hosting, Puck claimed that 2023 Governors Awards host Mulaney was asked to host but turned down the gig. Mulaney told IndieWire in June 2024 that he prefers to host smaller-scale awards shows rather than one like the Oscars.
“I hosted the Governors Awards, and I really had fun doing that,” Mulaney said. “I will say: I’m open to whatever. I personally have an affinity for [something lower key]. It’s so fun to try to do your absolute best at not the biggest award show, like the Spirit Awards or Governors Awards. They’re just a little more relaxed and casual. Going in and trying to have a shitload of fun is a great feeling.”
