Oscars ratings collapse as Jason Whitlock blames ‘woke’ Hollywood for cultural decline

In 1996, the Oscars viewership totaled a whopping 45 million — but now, in 2026, the number has dwindled to a measly 17 million.

“At 17 million, it’s attracting about 5% of the American public,” BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock comments, adding that Clay Travis made an interesting point regarding the celebrity awards show.

“Big media take: the only reason broadcast TV networks still exist is the NFL. Go look at ratings, if the NFL isn’t on NBC, CBS and Fox, what are people watching on these channels? Bigger media take: sports is the only reason cable TV still exists. Am I wrong? Debate, discuss,” Travis wrote in a post on X.

The Oscars, like sports, Whitlock comments, “used to be a powerhouse.”

“It was like a big party, a big holiday event, Oscars night. Families would dress up, families would throw parties, people would invite everybody over, people would have wine and beer and drink and food,” he recalls.

“It was like a celebration. It was a mini-Super Bowl. And now it’s nothing. And it’s nothing because it moved away from reality. It’s nothing because the movies are nothing. They are straight trash,” he says, blaming DEI for the quality of films.

“The woke movement has done this. Woke movies, woke television, woke everything, the move away from reality. Movies and TV no longer reflect our reality. And that has made sports the last thing still connected to reality, the last thing that still reflects an American reality. It makes sports more valuable,” he explains.

And sports still reflect an American reality because many of them are attached to patriotism.

“There is an underserved market of people out here that want to see things on television, things in popular culture, that reflect a love for America and are connected to something that’s believable,” Whitlock says.

“This is how I know they have killed capitalism, because there’s this great mass of America that just wants popular culture to serve them up some reality, some masculinity, some moral values loosely connected to Christianity,” he continues.

“They want to celebrate America,” he adds.

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