Comedienne Ellen DeGeneres announced via her Twitter account that she will be returning to host the Oscars for the second time, Indiewire reported.
DeGeneres last hosted the Oscars in 2007 and has said “I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time,” in a press release. She went on to joke, “You know what they say — the third time’s the charm,” quoted The Huffington Post.
Last year Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane hosted the awards, creating controversy over racy comments and offensive remarks. According to The Huffington Post, although MacFarlane’s hosting wasn’t funny to all critics, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron were happy with his performance. They said, “We were concerned with putting on entertainment, which we think we did, and people tuned in great numbers.”
On the decision to have DeGeneres host Zadan and Meron said, “As a longtime friend, we had always hoped to find a project for us to do together and nothing could be more exciting than teaming up to do the Oscars. There are few stars today who have Ellen’s gift for comedy, with her great warmth and humanity. She is beloved everywhere and we expect that the audience at the Dolby Theatre, and in homes around the globe, will be as excited by this news as we are,” reported The Huffington Post.
The 2014 Academy Awards will air March 2 on ABC.