If you’re hoping to see John Oliver step in to host the Oscars at any point in the future, maybe don’t hold your breath. The “Last Week Tonight” host admitted on Monday night that he doesn’t think he could ever hide his “visible contempt” of giving more praise to “some of the most over-praised people on Earth.”
Oliver’s admission came during his appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” when the two were discussing the performance of their colleague, Jimmy Kimmel. Kimmel hosted the Oscars for his third time on Sunday night, with many noting that it was the most pleasant the awards ceremony has been in awhile.
And really, Oliver thinks that Kimmel simply has an invaluable skill on that stage that Oliver himself could never harness.
“The great thing about Kimmel, right, is that he’s obviously funny, but also, he has, like, you’re confident that there is this low-lying contempt for the whole event there,” Oliver explained. “And you’re confident that it’s there, but he somehow doesn’t manage to poison the room with that visible contempt. And that is a kind of magic trick that I couldn’t do.”
He added that he’d be overly blunt, and likely discredit the validity of Hollywood’s biggest night very openly.
“I could not, at any point, say ‘It’s gonna be a magical night,’” Oliver joked. “I’d say, ‘It’s not though, is it? These are some of the most over-praised people on Earth, and we’re gonna give them shiny trophies like they’re dogs.’ It’s not me. No one wants it.”
At that, Meyers admitted that he doesn’t think Oliver could describe anything as magical “without you being ironic or sarcastic.”
You can watch Oliver’s full interview on “Late Night” in the video above.
