Wanda Sykes says she doesn't know what she's getting paid to cohost the Oscars.Jimmy Kimmel told her he was paid $15,000 and thinks she'll have to split that with her cohosts.
Wanda Sykes says she doesn't know what she's getting paid to host this year's Oscars. But whatever it is, Jimmy Kimmel believes she could be short-changed.
Sykes, who will be co-hosting Sunday's Academy Awards with Amy Schumer and Regina Hall, was a guest on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Tuesday and the two discussed the pay that hosts receive for Hollywood's biggest night.
"Out of all the jobs that I have, this one is actually going to cost me money," Sykes told Kimmel.
Kimmel then asked Sykes if she knew how much money she was making for the gig. Sykes said she didn't, but that it's probably scale, which in the
Kimmel, who hosted the Oscars in 2017 and 2018 — the latter marking the last time there has been a host on the show — revealed that he was paid $15,000 to host.
"And there's one of me, you guys will probably have to split all that," Kimmel said, referencing Schumer and Hall. "It sounds like a lot for one night but it's months of work leading up to it."
Sykes concurred: "It's a lot of work."
"You're getting robbed," Kimmel added. "Hold out right now because they need hosts."
Sykes then joked to Kimmel about her plan to make some extra cash on the job.
"I've already decided I'm just going to steal an Oscar," she said.
Insider contacted Sykes' rep and the Oscars for comment but didn't get an immediate response.
Sykes, Schumer, and Hall hosting marks the first time three women have taken on hosting duties at the Oscars.
Last year's Oscars — which didn't have a host and was scaled down due to the pandemic — drew the lowest ratings in the show's history with under 10 million watching.
In an interview with Insider in February, Seth Rogen, who presented at the awards show back in 2017, questioned whether viewers still cared about the ceremony.
"I don't get why movie people care so much if other people care what awards we give ourselves," Rogen said a week after this year's nominations were announced.
"To me, maybe people just don't care," the "Pam & Tommy" star continued. "I don't care who wins the automobile awards. No other industry expects everyone to care about what awards they shower upon themselves. Maybe people just don't care. Maybe they did for a while and they stopped caring."
This year's awards have been mired in controversy within Hollywood since it was announced that not all the categories will be presented on live TV. Most recently Steven Spielberg, who is nominated for best director this year for "West Side Story," spoke out saying "we should all have a seat at the supper table together."
The 2022 Oscars will take place at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre on Sunday and will air live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Here's the full list of nominees. You can watch the Sykes and Kimmel discuss the Oscars below (conversation starts at the 1:45 mark).