Elton John was among celebrities expressing his disappointment with this year’s Oscars ceremony, the telecast of which was watched by 58% fewer people than last year. “The Oscar ceremony looks like it’s coming from a Starbucks somewhere,” John remarked to co-host Neil Patrick Harris at his annual – and this year, virtual – viewing party. John was commenting on the new, socially distanced venue at Los Angeles’s Union Station. “I still can’t get over the set,” he added. John later clarified that his chief disappointment was pandemic-related. “I wish we could be there. It’s more fun. This is the only way we could do it.” Meanwhile, Donald Trump issued a statement from Mar-a-Lago decrying this year’s event. “What used to be called the Academy Awards, and now is called the “Oscars” – a far less important and elegant name – had the lowest television ratings in recorded history,” he began. “If they keep with the current ridiculous formula, it will only get worse – if that’s possible.” Trump credited the fall in ratings to “political correctness” and the Hollywood elite silencing Republicans. Late-night chatshow host Jimmy Kimmel mocked both parties on his show, saying: “Trump basically is the Oscars – old, bloated, completely self-involved and obsessed with gold.” He also read out a spoof statement from the Academy, aping Trump’s unusual phrasing and grammar with the postscript “Our show SUCKED this year because you gave everybody Covid.”