Jimmy Kimmel will be paid $15,000 to host the Oscars

The 49-year-old TV presenter has been chosen to host the Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on February 26, and has joked that he’s being paid a relative pittance for the honour.

He quipped: “I think it’s illegal to pay nothing.”

Jimmy subsequently admitted to being unsure whether he was supposed to disclose how much he was being paid, but he also blamed the slip-up on the event organisers.

The funnyman told the ‘Kevin & Bean’ morning show: “I’m not sure I was supposed to reveal this. But nobody told me not to. I consider this their fault.”

Jimmy joked that he was only chosen to present the glitzy ceremony because the Academy’s preferred hosts were not available.

He said, tongue in cheek: “They asked like 14 people and they all said no and then there was me. I absolutely was surprised.”

Jimmy has been modest about securing the coveted role ever since it was first announced, telling the audience at his chat show, ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, that he was only chosen because his studio on Hollywood Boulevard is close to the Dolby Theatre.

He quipped in an opening monologue: “The producers and the Academy went through a long list of names, and in the end, they decided that – since I am already right across the street from where they do the show – I was the closest person to host.”

Jimmy is poised to follow in the footsteps of stand-up comedian Chris Rock, who hosted the iconic awards ceremony earlier this year.

The 51-year-old star used his opening monologue to address concerns about a lack of racial diversity in Hollywood, and closed the ceremony by making reference to the Black Lives Matter movement.