‘We’re not going to trash anyone’: hosting trio’s vow as Oscars ceremony returns in-person

Wanda Sykes has said that she and her Oscars co-hosts are not “going to trash anyone” at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

The USactress, along with fellow comedians Amy Schumer and Regina Hall, wants “everyone to have a good time” as the ceremony returns to its traditional in person format on Sunday for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The trio are making history as the first all-female line-up to take on hosting duties.

Award ceremony hosts are notorious for taking swipes at the multiple famous faces that gather to be celebrated. But Ice Age star Sykes insisted: “None of us are mean-spirited.”

Her promise came despite The Humans actress Schumer joking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that she would spend the evening “grilling” best actor nominee Javier Bardem.

Schumer told DeGeneres she is “not nervous” but “excited” about hosting — though she has had trouble sleeping in the run up to the show. She said a career in stand-up comedy had made her “lose that fear” and she was “excited” to host the awards.

“I am not nervous because I think that’s what stand-up does to you. It goes so bad that you just lose that fear,” she said.

Excitement is building in Hollywood ahead of the ceremony, with Jenna Coleman, Winnie Harlow, Kate Beckinsale and Amanda Seyfried among the stars turning on style at a Vanity Fair and Lancôme party ahead of the awards.

The 94th Academy Awards, which will be broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre and take place from 1am UK time, are again courting controversy.

Awards producer Will Packer was forced to defend a decision to pre-record the handing out of eight awards — including documentary short, film editing and makeup/hairstyling — before the official live ceremony, to be later edited into the telecast.

Karol Urban, president of the Cinema Audio Society, said the move would “fracture the filmmaking community” by “keeping invisible art invisible”.

Acts of “solidarity” and protest are expected to take place at the ceremony on Sunday, which may include guild members wearing their pins upside down, and award winners accepting their trophies upside down.