MacFarlane, with his raunchy humor and songs-and-dance routines, earned praise for playing his part as host at the Oscars but came in for some harsh criticism as well. Hence, it comes as no surprise that he is reluctant to host next year’s awards.
Speaking of his unwillingness to host the Oscars once again, MacFarlane said, “I will have put five months of work into the Oscars. It’s been a monster of a schedule with everything else I have to deal with. Which is why I don’t think I can do it again. I think it’s a one-time thing. But it’s been a lot of fun.”
Among the groups that expressed great displeasure at MacFarlane’s jokes were Jewish, women’s and family organizations while many people in Hollywood voiced their dissension anonymously.
Among the jokes that were in poor taste were the ones where he purposely mixed Denzel Washington and Eddie Murphy while also insinuating that it was hard to find work in Hollywood if you weren’t a Jew.
Also, the ‘We Saw Your Boobs’ song drew a lot of negative attention from women while it didn’t seem to bother the younger crowd all that much.
Yet despite the controversy, the show boasted of the highest ratings since 2010 with almost 40.4 million viewers, and which is why the show’s producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, didn’t seem to find anything distasteful about the show.
These strong ratings (and viewership numbers) are a result of the popularity that MacFarlane enjoys amongst young men for his work as a producer in ‘Family Guy’ and ‘Ted’ – fans that aren’t likely to watch the Academy Awards.
