Drew Barrymore is stepping down as host of this year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards, in a show of support and solidarity to the striking Writers Guild members. But as a sign of good faith to MTV, Barrymore has also agreed to return and host next year’s edition of the kudocast instead.
Sunday night’s MTV Movie & TV Awards will still continue, but will now go hostless. The state of the show is still evolving day-by-day, as producers pivot to their strike contingency plans and wait and see who among their presenters, nominees and guests are still willing and able to appear on the telecast. As another nod to the evolving news, there will no longer be a red carpet or talent interviews before the show.
“I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,” Barrymore said in a statement. “Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation. And until a solution is reached, I am choosing to wait but I’ll be watching from home and hope you will join me. I thank MTV, who has truly been some of the best partners I have ever worked with. And I can’t wait to be a part of this next year, when I can truly celebrate everything that MTV has created, which is a show that allows fans to choose who the awards go to and is truly inclusive.”
Barrymore won’t be at the live event, but she may still be seen on this Sunday’s show: As host, she had already participated in several pre-taped short films for the telecast — and those timely pieces are still expected to air.
“Drew, without question, she’s been incredible. It’s hard to imagine that we’ve ever had a better experience with a host,” said Bruce Gillmer, the president of music, music talent, programming and events at Paramount Global, and an executive producer of the MTV Movie & TV Awards. “She’s more of a partner really, she’s in it every day, just super passionate and super engaged and creative. She even bought some of her own team along for the journey. So when this all reared its head, we started to prepare for what could be. She is not surprisingly, standing in solidarity with the writers, which we have full respect for. She has our full support.
“So she’s not going to be with us live in the house for the show and we will essentially be going hostless,” he added. “The silver lining in all of this is that we really formed a partnership almost a family-like atmosphere. So we see this as a shift in direction, but also a pause for the initial plan, which we’ve all agreed and she’s accepted to continue as our host in 2024.”
Because the situation is fluid, Gillmer said he’s still waiting word on which presenters and nominees might still attend. That includes “The White Lotus” star Jennifer Coolidge, who is slated to receive the ‘Comedic Genius’ award. Gillmer said producers are also still ironing out how the show will open — although as of now, it could be a pre-tape bit featuring Barrymore. After that, the show plans to find a way to explain what is happening with the strike and why the show looks a bit different than originally planned.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Variety