The ratings are in for the 90th Academy Awards, and they are not good. This year's broadcast averaged 26.5 million viewers, down nearly 20% from last year. That is a record low, although Nielsen ratings don't count viewers in The Sunken Place. (Sorry. Get Out was my favorite movie of 2017).
There are many reasons the ratings were low. With the rise of streaming television, many people have cut their cable, sending ratings for all live events into a free fall. This is the golden age of TV, with countless options for quality shows a click away. Why watch an archaic, bloated three hour awards show, when all of the results and the best clips are online anyway? Also, while Get Out and The Shape Of Water did well at the box office, the other Oscar-nominated movies were not huge blockbusters. If people haven't seen the films, they don't care who wins the awards.
President Trump, however, has a different theory. He believes the Oscar ratings are tanking not because of changing viewer habits, but because of a lack of Donald Trump. This morning the trash-talker-in-chief took a break from his busy schedule of golfing and watching Fox & Friends to tweet, "Lowest rated Oscars in HISTORY. Problem is, we don’t have Stars anymore - except your President (just kidding, of course)!" (Of course!)
Well, we expected some schadenfreude. Ever since he became a politician, Trump and the "Hollywood elites" have sparred on the Internet. Last year he called Meryl Streep one of the "most over-rated actresses in Hollywood." And just last week, he got in a Twitter war with Alec Baldwin over his SNL impression. (Turns out Trump is more of a Darrell Hammond fan.)
However, Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel came firing back with the perfect response, tweeting, "Thanks, lowest rated President in HISTORY." (Ouch.) Kimmel is of course referring to Trump's presidential approval rating, which, according to Gallup, recently sank to a record low of 39%. According to FiveThirtyEight, his approval rating currently sits at 40.4%, so that's a bit of an improvement! But as they say, those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
I don't get what the President meant by "we don't have Stars anymore." The event had plenty of stars, and this year, there was cause for celebration, as the nominees were more diverse than ever before. In 2015 and 2016, the Oscars were criticized for only nominating white actors, prompting the Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. But this year it was more like #OscarsSoWoke. Jordan Peele won for Best Original Screenplay, a first for a person of color. Guillermo Del Toro won for Best Director. Greta Gerwig was nominated for Best Director. Rachel Morrison was the first woman to be nominated for Best Cinematography. And a fantasy film about a woman falling in love with a fish-man was nominated for Best Picture. That fish-man is a Star with a capital S, Mr. President! Respect the fish-man!
Anyway, the Oscars ratings will be higher next year if they let Donald Trump host, nominate Black Panther for Best Picture, and don't reject another hilarious Lonely Island song...