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Euan Kerr and Marcheta Fornoff

Is anyone still watching the Oscars?

88th Annual Academy Awards - Backstage And Audience
An Oscar statue backstage at the 88th annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on Feb. 28, 2016, in Hollywood, Calif.
Christopher Polk | Getty Images 2016

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Is the turmoil at the Oscars a bigger story than the awards themselves?

Comedian Kevin Hart was tapped to preside over this year's ceremony, but stepped down shortly after homophobic tweets from the early 2000s resurfaced.

Weeks later, the academy announced that there will be no replacement host — a move that's not unprecedented, but hasn't happened for 30 years.

The academy also drew ire for announcing that it would continue to give out awards during the commercial breaks. It reversed that decision after a backlash from within the industry.

And, though #OscarsSoWhite is no longer trending on Twitter, its criticisms still loom large over this year's ceremony.

MPR's Cube Critics, Euan Kerr and Steph Curtis, asked film critic Gil Robertson IV and Aisha Harris, senior culture editor at the New York Times, whether anything from the ceremony will be more newsworthy than the headlines leading up to it.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.