Hosting the Oscars may sound like a glamorous gig — or a lucrative one, at least, given the massive international ratings of the esteemed Hollywood awards show. But, as recently announced host of the 2017 broadcast Jimmy Kimmel found out, the paycheck isn't quite as big as you might expect.
During a radio interview on KROQ's The Kevin & Bean Show on Wednesday, Kimmel disclosed his salary. And while it's a hell of a lot of money to most of Americans, it's practically pocket change when compared to the multimillion dollar paychecks passed out to celebrities on the regular. The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host said he will take home $15,000 for emceeing the 89th Academy Awards (in addition to the weeks of prep that goes into the affair, including writing and rehearsing). "You know why?" he said of the sum, "I think it’s illegal to pay nothing," he joked, reports Vulture.
Well, he's sort of right. The minimum salary for the job, as decided by SAG-AFTRA, is exactly $15,000, according to THR. Kimmel, who hosted the Emmys in September, said he was told that his pay was on par with that of previous hosts Chris Rock and Billy Crystal. And as for how he scored the gig? "They asked like 14 people and they all said no and then there was me," he joked. "I absolutely was surprised."
Tune in to see what $15,000 worth of A-list worthy hilarity looks like on February 26.