Jimmy Kimmel revealed how much he’ll be making to host the Oscars in February, and it’s not very much.
The ABC late-night host will pull in just $15,000 for the gig, a low figure considering the Academy Awards ceremony is one of the biggest events in Hollywood. But Kimmel says he’s lucky to be making anything at all.
“I think it’s illegal to pay nothing,” he joked on KROQ’s “The Kevin and Bean Show” Wednesday.
“I’m not sure I was supposed to reveal this,” he added. “But nobody told me not to. I consider this their fault.”
Kimmel will host the awards on Sunday, Feb. 26. The show will be broadcast live on ABC, his home network. “They asked like 14 people and they all said no and then there was me,” he said.
The late-night host — who hosted this year’s Emmy Awards — had previously joked about the job during his monologue on Monday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” saying he was the only person willing to accept it.
“The producers and the Academy went through a long list of names, and in the end they decided that since I am already right across the street from where they do the show, I was the closest person to host,” Kimmel quipped, in reference to his studio on Hollywood Blvd. — literally across the street from the Dolby Theatre where the Oscars are held.
“I guess I have to get a tux now,” he said. “Or maybe I’ll wear jean shorts? Has anyone ever done that?”