The folks behind the annual Oscars telecast did the best damage control possible when they hired Billy Crystal to replace Eddie Murphy as this year’s emcee.
The move returned Crystal, arguably the best Oscar host of the modern era, back where he belongs. And the imbroglio following former show producer Brett Ratner’s vile anti-gay comments seemed forgotten, if but for a moment.
Turns out the public may not be eager to forget that the dust up ever happened.
A new poll commissioned by The Hollywood Reporter reveals viewers wish Murphy were still hosting the event.
Market research firm Penn Schoen Berland surveyed 510 awards-show viewers aged 13 to 59 and compared the results against similar surveys about Murphy and 2011 hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway.
In head-to-head competition, Murphy is the choice of 58 percent of viewers, compared with Crystal’s 42 percent … and African-Americans are more than 2 times less likely to watch Crystal.
One note of consequence from the pollster – Crystal’s appeal “is significantly older, female and conservative.”
Crystal is no Charlton Heston, or even Jon Voight. The comedian doesn’t insult conservatives or their values while hosting the Oscar telecast. He simply puts on a grand show and lets the movies share the spotlight.
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