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Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson says he was offered 2019 Oscars hosting gig

1:46
2019 Oscars officially has no host
Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images
Michael Rothman
ByMichael Rothman
February 07, 2019, 4:11 PM

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson dropped a bomb on the internet Wednesday, revealing that the Oscars actually offered him the hosting gig earlier, but that he wasn't able to accept because of filming.

The "Ballers" star, 46, replied to a fan after he said Johnson should be the next host with, "Ah mahalo dude, I was their first choice to host this year, and my goal was to make it the most fun and entertaining Oscars ever. We all tried hard, but couldn’t make it work since I’m shooting 'Jumanji.'"

The "Hobbs and Shaw" star added, "Academy and I were super bummed but maybe one day down the road."

A request for clarification from The Academy and Johnson was not immediately returned to ABC News.

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(MORE: Oscars 2019 to officially have no host)

This alleged news comes days after it was made official that the Oscars will officially have no host this year.

ABC Entertainment PR and an Academy spokesperson confirmed the information to ABC News on Tuesday, months after Johnson's dear friend Kevin Hart stepped down as host.

With the close personal connection between the two stars, ABC News asked Johnson's rep if the tweet was any kind of joke. Hart and Johnson are known to poke fun at each other on social media. No response was given.

Hart stepped down in December, just hours after he was announced as the host, after homophobic tweets he posted almost eight years ago resurfaced.

In January, Hart apologized again to the LGBTQ community, adding, "We thought it was OK to talk like that, because that’s how we talked to one another ... This is wrong now."

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(MORE: Kevin Hart apologizes to LGBTQ community after Oscars controversy)

He later said on "GMA" that "There's no more conversation about it ... I'm over that, I'm over the moment" when asked about the Oscars and his past comments.

The last time the Oscars went without a host was 1989, when producer Allan Carr decided on having more presenters instead of an MC.

Earlier this week, a diverse array of Oscars presenters were announced including Whoopi Goldberg, Tessa Thompson and Awkwafina.

The Oscars are set to air on ABC at 8 p.m. EST Feb. 24.

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  • Oscars

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