EXCLUSIVE: Oscars Will Be 'Ultra-Woke Nonsense' if It Goes Ahead After L.A. Wildfires: 'It'll Be a Charity Drive… Not an Awards Ceremony!'
Movie's biggest night is still in flux.
Jan. 17 2025, Published 6:20 p.m. ET
Hollywood heavyweights have called for this year's Oscars to be scrapped as fears mount it will be a woke wildfires charity fundraiser.
Desperately Seeking Susan star Rosanna Arquette believes the ceremony should still go ahead with Billy Crystal, who lost his $9M house in the blazes, orchestrating proceedings in a Jerry Lewis-style Labor Day Telethon to raise cash for victims, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
"This year, it’s not just about celebrating art," she said.
"It’s about using art to rebuild, inspire and help those who need it most. I woke up the other night thinking, 'What if we did a Jerry Lewis-style telethon but integrated it with the Oscars?'"
Rosanna Arquette suggests a telethon-style Oscars led by Billy Crystal to rebuild and inspire amid the devastation.
"Imagine Billy Crystal opening the show. He lost his home, but he’s the perfect person to unite the room, to remind us of what we can achieve together," she added.
But one showbiz insider said: "This is the last thing the people of Los Angeles need…more woke virtue signaling from the Hollywood elite. The whole thing should be canceled. Period."
It would be the first cancelation in the ceremony's 96-year history.
Another source added: "The board's main concern at this time is to not look like they are celebrating while many Los Angelenos are dealing with heartbreak and unimaginable loss.
Stephen King has called for the Oscars' cancellation, saying there's no place for glitz while Los Angeles burns.
"And certainly, even if the fires went out in the next week, the reality is that the city is still hurting and will be dealing with that pain for months.
"So the hierarchy decided that the focus will be support and fundraising when the right opportunities present themselves."
Several celebrities have lost their homes, including socialite Paris Hilton, When Harry Met Sally actor Crystal and The Hills stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt.
At least 27 people have died, including former child star Rory Sykes, with the official death toll expected to rise.
An announcement for the Oscars nominations was delayed for a second time and rearranged to take place virtually on 23 January instead.
Jean Smart urges Hollywood to scrap the ceremony and focus on aiding wildfire victims during this time of loss.
The Academy also canceled its annual nominees' luncheon and said it would honor frontline workers and support relief efforts.
However, The Shining author Stephen King believes the event should be scrapped entirely, and will not be voting as part of the committee.
"Not voting in the Oscars this year. IMHO they should cancel them," King wrote on Bluesky. "No glitz with Los Angeles on fire."
Hacks star Jean Smart, who won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series earlier this month, has also demanded that the event be canceled.
Jennifer Lopez's 'Unstoppable' premiere joins a growing list of events canceled as Hollywood grapples with the crisis.
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"With ALL due respect during Hollywood’s season of celebration, I hope any of the networks televising the upcoming awards will seriously consider NOT televising them and donating the revenue they would have gathered to victims of the fires and the firefighters," she wrote in a post on Instagram.
More than a dozen Hollywood premieres and awards ceremonies have been canceled including premieres for Amazon MGM Studios’ Unstoppable, which stars Jennifer Lopez; Universal’s film Wolf Man starring Julia Garner; and an awards season event for the Golden Globe-winning film Emilia Pérez.
