Getty Whoopi Goldberg attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards
With the Oscars less than 24 hours away and no official host announced, it appears as though the ceremony will commence with a series of guest presenters instead. However, a theory circulating online suggests that the Oscars are actually hiding the identity of their 2019 host: Whoopi Goldberg.
There have been several clues to support this theory. For one, Goldberg is the only Oscar presenter slated to appear at this year’s ceremony who has previously hosted. She was the first woman to appear as a solo host of the Oscars in 1994, and subsequently returned in 1996, 1999 and 2002. All four outings were well received by critics and audiences.
Many Have Speculated That Goldberg Is Secretly Planning to Host the 2019 Oscars
Goldberg, an Oscar winner herself, also stated that she’d be up for hosting the ceremony again as recently as December. She also criticized the decision to move forward without a host. “If you want to go hostless, that’s your prerogative. I think it’s a dumb idea,” she said. “People need someone to take them through things. I think it needs to be somebody who loves the films.”
The theories surrounding Goldberg’s involvement was compounded when she took a brief leave of absence from The View. While the official reason given for her absence was that she had fallen ill, some fans speculated that it was because she was rehearsing on the Oscars stage. Neither Goldberg nor her representatives have commented on these theories.
Goldberg Has Hosted the Oscars 4 Times & Was the First Solo Woman to Do So In 1994
CBS producer Peter Knegt summed up the collective suspicion of the internet when he tweeted out: “Whoopi Goldberg’s absence from The View (she’s sick, they say) since the day after they announced her as an Oscar presenter + the fact that she’s the only previous Oscar host listed as a presenter + she openly said on The View [in December] that she’d be up for hosting= ???”
Goldberg’s fellow View panelist, Joy Behar, decided to issue a statement debunking these claims. “Whoopi’s still out. She’s not feeling well. And there are all these conspiracy theories that she’s not really sick. She’s secretly preparing to host the Oscars,” Behar said on Thursday morning. “But she’s actually recovering from pneumonia. That’s what she had, it’s a serious thing. So I don’t think she’s going to be able to host the Oscars and I’m sure she’s very disappointed.”
Whoopi Goldberg’s absence from The View (she’s sick, they say) since the day after they announced her as an Oscar presenter+the fact that she’s the only previous Oscar host listed as a presenter+she openly said on The View in January that she’d be up for hosting=???
Despite Behar’s denial, fans have continued to keep the theory alive. Knegt went as far as to add an additional clue to his initial tweet, revealing that Goldberg’s name has mysteriously been removed from the list of Oscar presenters.
It’s unclear whether her name was removed due to her alleged hosting duties or the fact that she is still recovering from an illness. The only way to know for sure is to tune into the Oscars at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.