'Chicken Shop Date' creator Amelia Dimoldenberg brings flirty awkwardness to the Oscars red carpet

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amelia Dimoldenberg only needs 60 seconds with Timothée Chalamet.

In her decade of hosting the popular YouTube show “Chicken Shop Date,” she hasn’t yet casually, awkwardly flirted with Chalamet over nuggets under bright fluorescent lights. Sunday, though, she might get her chance: Dimoldenberg will be on the Oscars red carpet as an official correspondent and social media ambassador for the show. Chalamet is nominated for best actor, for his turn as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.” It could happen.

But Dimoldenberg, 31, knows as well as anyone that you can’t really control what happens, or whom you get to talk to, on a red carpet — especially one as busy as the Oscars'. This will be her second year in the position. Last year, she riffed with Billie Eilish, flirted with Taylor Zakhar Perez, talked about falling with Jennifer Lawrence and played rock, paper, scissors with Dwayne Johnson.

“I love the challenge of it — having 90 seconds with someone and you have to get something incredible,” she said. “There’s a conveyor belt of celebrities, so if you love celebrity interviews it’s kind of the best place to be.”

She has a long list of hopefuls this year, including nominees like Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande (whom she’s never met), Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, Jesse Eisenberg and Mikey Madison. Sometimes, the celebrity is familiar with her work and her character; sometimes they’re not. That character, an exaggerated version of herself, is a celebrity interviewer who is actually on a date with her subjects: She's at turns desperate and overly confident, flirting in what she's described as a very British way of making the other person think you don't like them.

In the show, she makes the interactions even more awkward, and funnier, in the edit. On a red carpet, there are no such crutches. The key, she said, is going with the flow and making her interviewees feel comfortable no matter what.

“I don’t prefer one way or the other,” Dimoldenberg said. “Sometimes people I’ve met for the very first time I could have an incredible rapport with and they kind of are pleasantly surprised by my style in a way that’s fun and refreshing.”

Her style is a bit of a departure in tone for the esteemed, buttoned-up show, but indicative of the changing tides of the traditional media landscape and everyone’s desire to reach broader audiences.

“Her lighthearted, humorous approach results in relatable, authentic moments,” said Jennifer Davidson, the academy’s head of marketing and communications. “Last year’s content throughout Oscars season was so well received, it only made sense to ask her back for a second year.”

Dimoldenberg is not just the host of “Chicken Shop Date” and occasional red carpet correspondent, but a mogul in the making. The show was her idea, and she produces it under the banner of her production company Dimz Inc. Her YouTube channel boasts more than 2.8 million subscribers and her videos have over 668 million views. But it wasn’t too long ago that a YouTube show would have been the last thing a studio would have selected for a film's press tour — especially a movie with Oscars dreams. Now, shows like hers and the similarly poultry-based “Hot Ones” are becoming regular stops.

Her big breakthrough with movie stars came when Daniel Kaluuya participated in a “date” in 2020. Up until then it had been mainly musicians, but now she had an Oscar-nominated actor. Two years later, a red carpet interview with Andrew Garfield went viral and her profile skyrocketed. They reunited recently while he was promoting “We Live In Time,” which was received as much as an event as the movie itself.

“I always thought it was going to be a hit, if I’m honest,” Dimoldenberg said. “I just thought it was a great idea, and I always wanted to be interviewing the biggest stars in the world. It just took 10 years to get there.”

Dimoldenberg has big plans for the future with several projects in development with her company. Her main concern is making sure that anything she puts her name on stays authentic to her. She was recently the subject of a lengthy profile in The New Yorker — which she liked being part of, but hasn’t read. Better, she said, for her mental health.

And right now she’s focused on getting ready for Sunday and whatever the red carpet gods have in store. The best way to catch her segments during the red carpet, which opens around 3:30 p.m. Eastern, is to follow the academy and Oscars social channels, on TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.

“I’m just really excited to be back again for the Oscars,” she said. “It’s kind of amazing to be asked back for a second year. it’s an amazing opportunity to like, go bigger and better than last year. They've let me kind of remain true to what people love about me and my videos. So that’s a real delight.”

For more coverage of this year’s Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards

Amelia Dimoldenberg poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

Amelia Dimoldenberg poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

Amelia Dimoldenberg poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

Amelia Dimoldenberg poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

Amelia Dimoldenberg poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

Amelia Dimoldenberg poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has sent its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal to Pakistani mediators and wants negotiations to focus on permanently ending the war, Iran’s state-run media said Sunday.

State TV said Iran seeks to end the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and ensure the security of shipping. Washington’s latest proposal had addressed a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and roll back Iran’s nuclear program, an issue that Tehran would rather discuss later.

There was no immediate comment from the White House about Iran’s reply.

President Donald Trump is giving diplomacy “every chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities,” the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told ABC.

Meanwhile, the fragile ceasefire was tested Sunday when a drone ignited a small fire on a ship off Qatar, while the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported drones entering their airspace. The UAE blamed Iran for its attack. No casualties were reported, and no one immediately claimed responsibility.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry called it a “dangerous and unacceptable escalation that threatens the security and safety of maritime trade routes and vital supplies in the region."

Iran and armed allied groups have used drones to carry out hundreds of strikes since the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Trump has reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing if Iran does not accept an agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program. Iran has mostly blocked the strategic waterway key to the global flow of oil since the war began, rattling world markets.

The U.S. in turn has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports. On Friday, the U.S. struck two Iranian oil tankers that it said were trying to breach the blockade. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy has reiterated its warning that any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a “heavy assault” on one of the U.S. bases in the region and enemy ships.

Another sticking point in negotiations is the fate of Iran’s highly enriched uranium. The U.N. nuclear agency says Iran has more than 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.

In an interview with state media posted late Saturday, a spokesman for Iran's military said its forces were on “full readiness” to protect nuclear sites where uranium is stored.

“We considered it possible that they might intend to steal it through infiltration operations or heliborne operations,” Brig. Gen. Akrami Nia told the IRNA news agency.

The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely at its Isfahan nuclear complex, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi told The Associated Press last month. The facility was bombarded by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in the 12-day war last year and faced less intense attacks this year.

Pakistan, which oversaw face-to-face talks between the U.S. and Iran last month, continues to pursue mediation. In rare public comments, Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir said Islamabad remains committed to helping end the conflict. And Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by phone with Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

The UAE's Defense Ministry said it shot down two drones and blamed the attack on Iran.

In Kuwait, Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al Otaibi said hostile drones entered Kuwait’s airspace early Sunday and forces responded “in accordance with established procedures.” The ministry did not say where the drones came from.

The Qatari Defense Ministry said a drone targeted a commercial ship coming from Abu Dhabi into a southern port, setting a small fire that was extinguished. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the attack happened 23 nautical miles (43 kilometers) northeast of Qatar’s capital, Doha. It provided no details about the ship’s owner or origin, and there was no claim of responsibility.

There have been several attacks against ships in the Persian Gulf over the past week.

South Korea announced initial findings from a investigation that said two unidentified airborne objects struck the stern of the South Korean-operated vessel HMM NAMU about one minute apart while it was anchored in the Strait of Hormuz last week, causing an explosion and fire. A foreign ministry spokesperson said officials have yet to determine who was responsible.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul; Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

Container ships sit at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, May 2, 2026.(Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)