Oscars 2019 Open With Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and a Dig at Trump
With no Kevin Hart, the 91st annual Academy Awards enlisted three of the funniest women around to give us a few jokes.
Kevin Winter/Getty
If the Academy had gotten its way, this year’s Oscars would have featured a “popular” movie category, four trophies handed out off screen, a running time of less than three hours with just two Best Original Song performances and comedian Kevin Hart as host. Hollywood wasn’t having any of it.
It’s been 30 years since the Oscars last went host-less, and for good reason. Perhaps the most thankless job in show business, the host nonetheless can serve as a steady hand to guide viewers through what could be a night of awkward transitions. The opening monologue jokes—beloved by Hollywood obsessives, despised by Fox & Friends—help set the tone for what could feel like a somber parade of tearful thank yous.
Without the benefit of a comedian at the helm Sunday night, the Oscars opened with a raucous performance by Queen, with Adam Lambert taking Freddie Mercury’s place to belt out “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” For a moment, it seemed as though they had given up on comedy altogether.
But then Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph emerged from backstage. Were they the show’s secret co-hosts?
“Good evening and welcome to the one-millionth Academy Awards!” Fey said. “We are not your hosts. But we’re going to stand here a little too long so that the people who get USA Today tomorrow will think that we hosted.”
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“So, just a quick update, in case you’re confused,” Rudolph said. “There is no host tonight, there won’t be a popular movie category, and Mexico is not paying for the wall.”
“That’s right,” Poehler added. “And we won’t be doing awards during the commercials, but we will be presenting commercials during the awards. So if all the winners could please say ‘Hellman’s mayonnaise: we’re on the side of food’ instead of speeches, that would be great.”
After a handful of deliberately lame jokes, including Rudolph asking Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, “Wakanda plans do you have later?” Fey exclaimed, “Everyone, look under your you’re seats, you’re all getting one of those cheese sandwiches from the Fyre Festival!”
With that, they presented the Best Supporting Actress award to Regina King and left the stage, leaving very little for people to be angry about Monday morning.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.