Here’s Some Math to Explain the Woes of the Oscars Telecast

Alissa Wilkinson asks today why no one wants to host the Oscars these days. I’m here to help. Everyone loves Venn diagrams, so here’s the answer in the form of a Venn diagram:

It’s an impossible job. Half the country wants PG-13, the other half wants R. Half the country wants it to be all about diversity and inclusiveness, the other half just wants to see movie stars. Half the country wants Bob Hope, the other half wants Lenny Bruce.

You’re going to get hammered no matter what you do. It won’t help your career, it doesn’t pay much money, and it’s a pain in the ass to do it. The real question isn’t why no one wants to do it, it’s why it took so long for comedians to finally give up on the whole thing.

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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