Oscars host wants to invite Zelensky

Hollywood comedian Amy Schumer, who is set to host the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday, has reportedly suggested to the production team behind the Oscars to feature Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in the ceremony by having him “satellite in or make a tape.”

Schumer appeared on Oscars co-host Drew Barrymore’s talk show, where she was asked how she would “handle the Academy Awards at this time? Are you going there? Do you ignore it? Do you call it out or what?”

The 40-year old comedian replied by saying, “There is definitely pressure in one way to be like, ‘This is a vacation, let people forget we just want to have this night,’ but it is like well, we have so many eyes and ears on this show.”

Despite the steady decline in viewership for the Academy Awards over the years, with the 2021 Oscars reportedly seeing a 51% drop in viewers compared to the year prior, Schumer stated she felt it was a “great opportunity to at least comment on a couple of things,” saying she had already written some jokes that highlighted the “current condition.”

“I mean there are so many awful things happening that it seems hard to focus on which one,” she said. “I actually pitched, I wanted to find a way to have Zelensky satellite in or make a tape or something just because there are so many eyes on the Oscars. I am not afraid to go there but it's not me producing the Oscars.”

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Zelensky’s comedy series returns to Netflix

Schumer did not clarify whether or not the producers of the ceremony actually took up her offer to connect with the Ukrainian president, who has been at the center of international attention amid the ongoing military conflict in his country.

Earlier, Zelensky’s satirical comedy series ‘Servant of the People’, which essentially launched his political campaign in 2019, made a return to Netflix’s library and is once again available for streaming to US audiences.