The organisers of the Academy Awards are considering dispensing entirely with a host for the ceremony after the abrupt departure of Kevin Hart, it has been reported.

According to Variety, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences are struggling to replace Hart after the comedian stepped down from Oscar hosting duties following sustained outrage over his history of homophobic statements.

Quoting anonymous “insiders”, Variety suggest that the Academy were taken by surprise by Hart’s refusal to apologise, and subsequent stepping down from the TV show. While the most obvious path would be to invite a talk-show host – such as Jimmy Kimmel or Ellen DeGeneres – to oversee proceedings, another option under consideration is to have no single host at all, instead offering “a bunch of huge celebs, something SNL style, and buzzy people”.

However, the last time the telecast deviated from a traditional single host in 2011, with the pairing of actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway, the result was generally agreed to be disastrous – as was the 2013 ceremony, when the Academy tried the “edgy” Seth MacFarlane.

The sense of crisis around the 2019 edition has remained constant, since a record low of 26.5m people watched the 2018 broadcast. An attempt to broaden its appeal by introducing a best popular film backfired spectacularly, and was quickly dropped, although the show’s running time has been shortened.