When Seth MacFarlane made offensive jokes at the Oscars(Throwback)

Seth MacFarlane is known for jokes that sometimes cross the line. He has made his entire career on jokes that push boundaries.

His show Family Guy is known for its controversial humour and Seth is known to thrive on controversial jokes that might make people uncomfortable.

So it was surprising when the Academy decided to hire him as host for their 2013 Awards show.

The Oscars had been suffering from declining viewership for a while now. Maybe the Academy thought that injecting a little controversy might help with the viewership.

Before Seth MacFarlane, Anne Hathaway and James Franco had been criticised for doing a job hosting the Oscars. But critics seemed to have gone to town when criticising Seth MacFarlane, who made a series of inappropriate jokes.

His intention was to lighten the mood by getting the worst out of the way and to remind the audience of his brand of humour. Apparently, it wasn't well-received by everyone. Reportedly, The New Yorker called it "the Oscars' Hostile, Ugly, Sexist Night."

At one point, MacFarlane joked about Django Unchained, saying it was "the story of a man fighting to get back his woman, who has been subjected to unthinkable violence. Or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie."

Well, he was successful in getting people to talk about the Academy Awards. And we think, that was what the Academy was going for all along.

The Oscars continue to suffer from declining ratings and this year's show had one of the lowest-rated viewerships. Perhaps having no host at all isn't really the way to go. The Oscars are still a coveted award in Hollywood, but in an era of social media, people might of sit around television and watch a ceremony that goes on for hours.