MTV VMAs Host Sebastian Maniscalco Promises Show ‘Absent of Politics’

Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco intends to cut out the left-wing politics that tend to dominate award shows for his upcoming stint as host of the 2019 VMAs Awards show.

Noting that he was shocked to have been offered the hosting spot for this year’s award show, Maniscalco insisted that he wants to skip the politics.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Maniscalco said he was “actually stunned” with the offer.

“I never thought that it would be something that would be in the cards for me because they typically skew a little younger,” Maniscalco told the paper. He ultimately agreed to do the show because he “really wanted to be a part of history.”

Maniscalco also insisted that he is going to stick with his observational-styled humor and avoid taking any shots at the musicians and pop artists in attendance. “I’m not taking the approach of making fun of people. It’s just not what I do,” he said.

“I’m going to stick with my brand of humor and give commentary throughout the night about what I’m seeing,” the Illinois-born comic added. “I think what MTV liked about me is that my comedy is centered around saying what people are thinking. That’s what I’m going to do throughout the night, give my commentary about everything that’s going on during the show.”

That admission also led Maniscalco to note that his comedy is absent of political topics and he intends to keep it that way onstage at the VMAs despite the “wokeness” of today’s young people or past shows.

“My jokes are absent of politics,” Maniscalco told the outlet. “They’re basically jokes about the most mundane things, whether it be about the subway or flying or talking about my immigrant father. I’m not touching any hot buttons in my comedy, and that won’t change for the VMAs.”

With that in mind, the comedian insisted that he’ll make observational cracks about what is going on in the room.

“I plan on picking apart what’s going on, whether it be onstage or backstage,” Maniscalco said. “Backstage, for me, is going to be like a playground for me, hopefully. Because, often when I watch an awards show, I want to know what’s going on backstage and who’s talking to who. I want to really bring the show to life.”

The change may get MTV’s award show back on the ratings track after last year’s disastrously low-rated broadcast.

Last year, the show’s ratings on simulcast among the 18-49 demographic slipped 6 percent over 2017’s numbers. When the numbers were narrowed down to total viewers on MTV alone, there was a 15 percent drop off. For the all-important 18-49 audience, there was a drop of 21 percent.

The collapse coincided with rapper Logic, who went on the attack against the Trump administration’s immigration policies, wearing “Fuck The Wall” t-shirts on stage during a politically charged performance.

Last year’s VMAs were also political from the start as it ushered in the MTV’s first-ever voter registration drive, aimed at encouraging young people to register and vote ahead of the November midterm elections.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.