Quote Of The Night: "We're here at the beautiful Chapter 11 Theater." Billy Crystal had hosted eight times before he got the gig once again in 2012. He filled in for Eddie Murphy, who dropped out just months before. So, while you can't go too hard on Billy, it was still a bit shocking to see him perform so badly. You would think he would be able to breeze through the ceremony, since he's had so much experience, but instead he was completely flat. His jokes felt hacky and outdated. He brought back his famous "Oscar, Oscar" musical routine during his opening monologue, and it was embarrassingly cheesy. The few times he tried pushing the envelope, it just rubbed people the wrong way. After Octavia Spencer won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, Billy Crystal went on to make this joke:
"After I saw The Help I just wanted to hug the first black woman I saw, which from Beverly Hills is about a 45 minute drive."
This soon sent social media into an uproar. Plus, he brought back his old Sammy Davis Jr. impression in the show's opening video, where he used blackface, and that got an even worse response. The Academy brought Crystal back because he used to be an amazing performer, but it's clear that the great comedian should've stayed home that night.