Fans of the Oscars hated the performance of an influencer interviewing stars on the red carpet, which launched discourse into the overall trend. In recent years, people with big TikTok accounts have begun to replace trained, seasoned reporters at events like the Vanity Fair Oscars party, and it's not going well.
TikToker Jake Shane, in particular, received poor reviews online for his performance.
Jake Shane misses with Julia Fox, Lewis Pullman
Shane and fellow influencers Quen Blackwell and Brittany Broski took on the honor of hosting the Oscars afterparty this year, and their inexperience in the realm of serious celebrity reporting showed.
One of the biggest blunders happened with Uncut Gems star Julia Fox as she discussed the cultural significance of the film If I had Legs I'd Kick You. While the actor was calling it "every mother's story," Shane jumped in with "Did you think the kid was annoying?"
There was an immediate awkward moment in which Fox hesitated to disagree and then had to drag the conversation back to what mattered.
This wasn't a one-off miss. During an interview with Thunderbolts actor Lewis Pullman, he proved that he hadn't done his research.
"We were recently in Mexico together," Shane mentioned. "Did we have a good time, or is there a separate group chat talking about me?"
"God, no, Jake," said Pullman. "Who do you think I am? You trust me. You know me. I'm almost offended that you would ask."
Shane's defense was that "it was written," implying that someone came up with the ill-advised question ahead of time without anybody considering Pullman's personality.
The awkwardness of the night was neatly summed up by Kris Jenner, who, upon greeting Shane and Blackwell, simply asked, "how did you get this gig?"
"No more influencers as hosts"
The string of bad interviews led Oscars fans to call for an end to influencers hosting red carpet events. While TikTok stars like Shane have many fans, their talents aren't compatible with what people expect from the Vanity Fair party.
"I love Quen down, and I think she is beautiful and smart and all of the things, but no more influencers as hosts," wrote @chrisisclueless on X. "The entire carpet was painful to watch. We need people with a degree in journalism or seasoned comedians only. Not a well-researched question was said that night."
"If you hire influencers for the red carpet you’re gonna get takes from people who only know how to create or mine a viral moment," @ellesep pointed out. "If you hire legit entertainment reporters you’ll get people who engage well with the actors because they’re interested in the work."
Others complained that Shane only got where he is today because his parents were already part of the industry, calling him a nepo baby. X user @NYSocialBee connected this to his blunder with Pullman.
"Quick thing to point out here, you see how he mentions they were in Mexico together?" they said. "He’s not a random influencer, that’s money and privilege, babe. That’s why you see people like him with no experience interviewing stars on a carpet."
Canadian television personality Keltie Knight laid out the crux of the issue on an episode of The Cutting Room Floor in February.
"I need you to treat the red carpet with the respect that it deserves," she said. "If you're covering awards season, and you didn't spend your holiday season watching everything and making notes, you kind of don't belong there."
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