Ellen DeGeneres Hosts the 79th Academy Awards

On September 7, 2006, DeGeneres was selected to host the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on February 25, 2007. This makes her the first openly gay person to have hosted the event. During the Awards show, DeGeneres said, 'What a wonderful night, such diversity in the room, in a year when there's been so many negative things said about people's race, religion, and sexual orientation. And I want to put this out there: If there weren't blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars, or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that.' Reviews of her hosting gig were positive, with one saying, 'DeGeneres rocked, as she never forgot that she wasn't just there to entertain the Oscar nominees but also to tickle the audience at home.' Regis Philbin said in an interview that 'the only complaint was there's not enough Ellen.' DeGeneres was nominated for an Emmy Award as host of the Academy Awards broadcast.