Jimmy Kimmel reveals the reason why he'll never host the Oscars again

Jimmy Kimmel is a busy man. He's been hosting his eponymous talk show for over two decades. He recently signed on to become the host of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? reboot, and he's hosted the Oscars four times in the last decade.

Like we said, busy. It's tough to keep that breakneck pace up, which is partially why Jimmy Kimmel is currently on vacation from his talk show. The last few years have seen him implement a slate of guest hosts during the summer, and it's led to some fun and exciting switch ups (Jiminy Glick, for example).

Jimmy Kimmel turned down an offer to host a fifth time

Kimmel will, of course, return to host Jimmy Kimmel Live, but one thing he will not be returning for is the Oscars. The comedian turned down an offer to host the prestigious award ceremony a fifth time. It was a shocking revelation for many, given that Kimmel has become something of an Oscars expert.

That being said, the comedian made his decision back in February 2024. He told The Los Angeles Times that he did not plan to return to the Oscars again, and he attributed his ironclad decision to experience. Simply put, he had been there and done that:

" I know how much work goes into them, so I thought, 'Yeah, I don’t necessarily want to do this ever again.'"

Kimmel has hosted the most controversial Oscars in recent memory

Jimmy Kimmel has been there for some of the most turbulent moments in Oscar history, in fact, and done a good job of maintaining order. He was hosting the Oscars in which La La Land was mistakenly announced as Best Picture, when it fact the true winner was Moonlight. He was also hosting when Will Smith infamously walked up on stage and slapped Chris Rock.

Any one of those would be enough to etch his name in the Oscar host history books. As far as Jimmy Kimmel is concerned, there's nowhere to go but down from there. And he has a point. "They went well - something crazy happened at one of them with a story I'll have for the rest of my life," he quipped.

Kimmel and former SNL writer John Mulaney turned down the opportunity to host the upcoming Oscars ceremony, which has sparked widespread debate/speculation as to who the show will select as their replacement. We can't wait to find out.