Chris Rock tackles racism head on in 2016 Oscars monologue.
Chris Rock opened the 88th Annual Academy Awards Sunday night with a monologue that lived up to expectations. Amidst the controversy surrounding #OscarsSoWhite, Chris Rock was expected to address Hollywood’s diversity issues in his opening monologue. He pushed the limits with a joke about the Oscars being the “White People’s Choice Awards,” and how if the host was chosen through nominations, Chris Rock wouldn’t be hosting.
It will be interesting to see how this monologue is received from the media from the days to come. The predominately white audience was difficult to read with many attendees seemingly unsure how to respond.
However, Chris Rock took the opportunity to bash Hollywood’s institutional racism but he also suggested that #OscarsSoWhite grew out of black people not having more important things to protest about. “Everything’s not sexism. Everything’s not racism,” he said.
