Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres and Whoopi Goldberg – with an impressive line-up like that you’d think hosting the Oscars would be the most prestigiou gig in Hollywood.
However, during a recent radio appearance Jimmy Kimmel revealed exactly how much he’s getting paid to host the upcoming event – and it’s slightly underwhelming.
“I think it’s illegal to pay nothing,” Kimmel said on the show. “I’m not sure I was supposed to reveal this. But nobody told me not to. I consider this their fault.”
For the three-hour-plus award show Kimmel will be cashing in a paltry $15,000 cheque, which isn’t too shabby when you work out that’s over $4000 per hour for on-stage time, but you also have to factor in rehearsal time. And considering last year’s goodie bag (which the nominees get to take home) was worth NZD$343k you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking Kimmel’s getting slightly ripped off for his time.
Kimmel has previously hosted the Emmy Awards in 2012 and 2016, the ESPYS in 2007 and the American Music Awards five times. Despite his impressive CV, he’s actually sitting at the lower end of the Oscar hosting pay scale with the typical salary between $15,000 to $25,000.
The 89th Academy Awards are on February 26, 2017.
