{"id":48025,"date":"2018-12-24T16:30:48","date_gmt":"2018-12-24T16:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/24\/kevin-hart-is-out-could-this-triple-amputee-army-vet-be-the-next-oscars-host\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:41:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:41:02","slug":"kevin-hart-is-out-could-this-triple-amputee-army-vet-be-the-next-oscars-host","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2018\/12\/24\/kevin-hart-is-out-could-this-triple-amputee-army-vet-be-the-next-oscars-host\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Hart is out. Could this triple amputee Army vet be the next Oscars host?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Adam Keys hasn\u2019t let three prosthetic limbs stop him from much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s climbed Mount Kilimanjaro<\/a>, hand-cycled marathons<\/a>, and dabbled in stand-up comedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why not add hosting the Oscars to his resume?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I recently heard that the Oscars were looking for a new host, I thought, \u2018Why not me?\u2019\u201d the former Army paratrooper, who lost both legs and his left arm in a 2010 IED blast, wrote on his website, #Adam4TheOscars<\/a>. \u201cThink about it \u2014 I\u2019m funny, I\u2019m handsome, and I look taller on TV.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keys told Military Times he was watching TMZ a few weeks ago to get material for his comedy routine when he saw Kevin Hart had stepped down<\/a> from the coveted emcee gig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought to myself \u2018Just try,\u2019\u201d which is generally how he lives life these days, he said. \u201cSo I put something on social media and it started a little buzz.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, his online petition<\/a> to get the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ attention has garnered more than 1,200 signatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s definitely a long shot that this Hollywood outsider would be called on to fill the shoes of past hosts, such as Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres, and the legendary Bob Hope, but Keys isn\u2019t deterred. He said his friends and teammates are confident they can get his story in front of the right people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe thing with Adam,\u201d said Sam Pressler, executive director of the nonprofit Armed Services Arts Partnership<\/a>, where Keys attended a comedy bootcamp last summer, “he has this choice to be angry and frustrated with his circumstances because of what happened to him, or he could choose to live life as if he\u2019d gotten a second chance … and he chooses the latter. And I think that\u2019s what really comes across with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Adam Keys, left, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro on two prosthetic legs earlier this year. (Adam Keys)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Oscars would be the ultimate platform for Keys to share his story and be able to inspire others, Pressler said. \u201cIt\u2019s a long shot, but if there\u2019s anything you\u2019ve seen from Adam, the things that people said are impossible for him to do \u2026 as a triple amputee, he\u2019s done it, and so I wouldn\u2019t put it past him to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn all seriousness,\u201d Keys writes in the petition, \u201cI couldn\u2019t imagine a better platform to share my story, to show the country that veterans aren\u2019t broken, and to prove that disability is not defining.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t