Seth MacFarlane 2014 Oscars: Comedian Asked To Host Awards Ceremony Again

Seth MacFarlane has been asked to return as the host of the 2014 Oscar Academy Awards.

“After defending his performance, the producers reached out to Seth and invited him back to host the show again,” sources close to the funny man told JustJared. “He’s not sure if he’s going to do it, but he has to decide within the next couple of weeks.”

The Oscars had the biggest audience in three years when he hosted the ceremony in February, but MacFarlane initially said he will never do the awards show again.

When asked on Twitter after the prestigious show if he would host the Oscars again, MacFarlane replied, “No way. Lotta fun to have done it, though [sic].”

The Oscars, which aired on ABC, was watched by 40.3 million people, compared to the telecast’s audience of 39.3 million viewers last year.

MacFarlane, who is known mainly for creating the hit comedy “Family Guy” and co-creating “American Dad,” was heavily criticized by the media after hosting the Oscars, even with the increased ratings.

“Awash in self-indulgence, neither he nor his 3-hour-and-35-minute show ever seemed to hit a comfortable, confident stride, which is a shame, because the broadcast had a lot of entertainment to offer,” read a review by USA Today.

Prior to the Oscars, MacFarlane admitted that hosting was very different than anything else he has done in his career.

“I've enjoyed the writing process. It's really a very different type of production than I've been involved with in the past, and it's such an extensive amount of time, and putting it together and having it feel like it has a shape and a consistency has really been a challenge,” he told the Associated Press.

During the awards show, MacFarlane joked about everything from Abraham Lincoln getting shot to actresses’ breasts to Rihanna and Chris Brown watching “Django Unchained” on their date night.

Most of his jokes received gasps rather than laughs and incited numerous twitter reactions.

“That John Wilkes Booth joke appalling. Don't think any jokes around Lincoln's death unfathomable, but that one was ugly,” NPR host Scott Simon tweeted.

“After hearing bits of Seth MacFarlane #Oscars hosting on @npr, glad I missed it. The Rihanna/Chris Brown joke make me abhor him even more,” feminist coach Elizabeth Johnson wrote.

It remains to be seen if MacFarlane will change his mind and host the show again next year.