Ken Jeong feels "flattered" by the talk of him hosting the Oscars in 2019.
The 49-year-old star has been touted by former host Whoopi Goldberg as the perfect candidate to replace comedian Kevin Hart in the role after he recently quit the coveted job amid a controversy about some of his old Twitter posts.
Responding to the comments Whoopi recently made on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’, Ken said: "I was just so flattered that Whoopie had even said that.
"I didn’t even know she was gonna go on ‘Colbert’. I just saw her on ‘The View’ yesterday morning, and, off camera, she was really serious about it. Like, ‘You know, you should host,’ and ‘I’m gonna talk to the Academy,’ and it was so lovely, you know, coming from her."
The actor attributes the talk to the success of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, which is one of very few films by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority Asian-American cast.
He told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: "This is more of an embarrassment of riches situation, where I think it’s all about ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and its unexpected box office success that has even allowed this chatter to happen."
Ken also admitted he’d relish the opportunity to host the annual awards show.
He said: "If they asked me to be an on-set medic for it, I’d be glad.
"I think the Academy has done an amazing job in kind of just trying to get more representation on screen … and I really think, with the success of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, ‘Black Panther’ and so many amazing movies right now, and so much diversity that is in these amazing movies, it’s exciting. It makes me so proud and excited to call myself an actor."
Meanwhile, Kevin Hart recently stood down as the host of the Oscars after old tweets that contained homophobic remarks and offensive slurs resurfaced online.
Kevin said: "I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscars.
"This is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologise to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past."
Ken Jeong ‘flattered’ to be linked to Oscars role
