With just six weeks until the big night, the Oscars have yet to find a suitable host—or any host, really. While the search continues, at least one person has taken himself out of the running: Chris Rock. As Variety reports, the comedian appeared at last night’s New York Film Critics Circle Awards dinner, where he briefly joked about the Oscars shenanigans before presenting Bo Burnham with the award for best first film for Eighth Grade. Looking out in the audience, Rock spotted his pal Steve Martin and said, “You should host the Oscars. You’re the best. Steve Martin should host the Oscars! Because I’m not doing it, goddammit! You’re not getting me.”
Rock has hosted the Oscars twice, first in 2005, and again in 2016. As far as hosts go, he’s definitely one of the better ones in recent memory, along with Martin, who hosted three ceremonies; Jon Stewart, who sadly only hosted one; and Billy Crystal, who hosted nine. (If you think that’s a lot, Bob Hope hosted a record 19 times like some kind of masochist.) As of now, it’s looking more and more like this year’s Oscars won’t be hosted by anyone at all, which might not be the worst case scenario. Honestly, they should just toss an Echo Dot up there and call it a day.