Jimmy Kimmel clarifies whether he will host the 2025 Oscars (once and for all)

Jimmy Kimmel has become synonymous with the Academy Awards. He's hosted the ceremony an impressive four times over the last decade. He hasn't exactly drawn rave reviews for his stints, but he has been commended for navigating some very tricky and controversial moments onstage.

Kimmel is a steady hand, which is very necessary when slapping and mistaken Best Picture winners are on the stage. The veteran comedian was asked to return for a fifth time in 2025, but he turned it down. That hasn't stopped outlets and awards bodies from asking him about the upcoming Academy Awards, though.

Jimmy Kimmel will not host the Oscars again

Kimmel won a Creative Arts Emmy Award on Sunday, September 9. He answered a few questions on the heels of his win, and one of them was, of course, about the 2025 Academy Awards. The comedian was asked if he could consider, well, reconsidering his rejection. His answer? Not a chance:

"No, the die has been cast."

There you have it. Jimmy Kimmel didn't expand on his reasoning, but he didn't really need to. He previously talked about the struggles and the stress that goes into hosting the Academy Awards, and he simply didn't want to put himself through it again.

Kimmel wants to focus on his late night show

Fallon's primary concern, of course, is the show that bears his name, Jimmy Kimmel Live! He talked about his Oscars legacy during a recent episode of the Politickin' podcast, and made it clear that the hosting gig cuts into the quality of his late night show.

"When I’m focused on the Oscar, I’m less focused on the show," he told the other guests on the pod. "And I just decided I didn’t want to deal with that this year. It was just too much last year." Kimmel also lamented the fact that things get pushed back, scheduling wise, with regards to his show, and it can take a while to get things back on track.

Kimmel lamented the current state of late night during the same Creative Arts Emmy Q&A, but you can click on the link below if you want to learn more about his thoughts on that particular matter!