The “Life After Beth” creator revealed during “The Drew Barrymore Show” that she wants Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to virtually attend the ceremony from his war-torn country amid Russia’s invasion. “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,” Schumer said. The 94th Academy Awards, which takes place Sunday, March 27, will still address certain political topics, though. “I think it’s a great opportunity to at least comment on a couple of things. I have some jokes that kind of highlight the sort of current condition,” Schumer said. “I mean, there are so many awful things happening that it seems hard to focus on which one.”
She added, “I am not afraid to go there, but it’s not me producing the Oscars.”
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IndieWire has reached out to the Academy for comment.
Schumer continued that she sees the awards show as an opportunity to address certain issues given its widespread audience: “I think there is definitely pressure in one way to be like, ‘This is a vacation, let people forget, we just want to have this night,’” Schumer said, “but it is, like, well, we have so many eyes and ears on this show.”
Schumer is co-hosting the ceremony along with Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes.
Hall previously told IndieWire that the hosting gig for the trio will be “celebratory” of women everywhere.
“We’ve been writing away, having meetings, talking, figuring it out. What I love, too, is often it’s like — ‘You know what? You’d be great for this,’” Hall said. “Amy sent me something [recently]. That’s what’s so great. We got the gamut — we got a gay woman, we got a Black woman, we got a white woman, we got a lot going on on the stage. So we’re really excited.”
The 94th Academy Awards air live Sunday, March 27, on ABC and will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
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