After Thursday's nominations, Seth MacFarlane can now say he's the Oscars host as well as a nominee.

His song "Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from his film "Ted" earned MacFarlane a nod for his lyrics, with music by Walter Murphy. Talking to a panel of experts on CNN's Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien via satellite after the nomination announcements, the "Family Guy" creator joked about his good fortune.

"It's insane," he said of his nomination. "I don't know how that happens. It's a horrible mistake!"

MacFarlane aimed some jabs during the nominations ceremony (joking that the supporting actress nominees no longer have to be nice to Harvey Weinstein, for example) and said he and the Academy officials are in agreement as to his comedic tone as host.

"There have not been too many outright 'no's'," MacFarlane said. "We are all on the same page in terms of what kind of line we want to walk."

The 85th Academy Awards will air Feb. 24 on ABC.