Out lesbian comic and daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres will host the 86th Academy Awards in March.
“It’s official: I’m hosting the #Oscars! I’d like to thank @TheAcademy, my wife Portia and, oh dear, there goes the orchestra,” DeGeneres tweeted to fans.
“I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time. You know what they say — the third time’s the charm,” quipped DeGeneres, who hosted the show in 2007 and was nominated for an Emmy Award for the performance.
The Academy Awards will air March 2, 2014, on ABC. More than 40 million people are expected to watch.
“There are few stars today who have Ellen’s gift for comedy, with her great warmth and humanity. She is beloved everywhere and we expect that the audience at the Dolby Theater, and in homes around the globe, will be as excited by this news as we are,” producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron said in an issued statement.
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane received mixed but mostly critical reviews last year over what some deemed a sexist musical routine. MacFarlane pulled himself out of running for consideration this year.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show has won 45 Daytime Emmys in its 10 years on air.
For more on DeGeneres’s hosting of The Oscars, check out the official Oscar Blog.
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