#OscarsSoWhite has been a raging, trending issue for a while now, and 88th Oscars Academy Awards' host Chris Rock definitely dealt with it at the awards night on Sunday (Feb 28) at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
Rock has been observing silence on the issue for the past six weeks, raising anticipation as to how he would approach the topic.
OscarsSoWhite is the widely documented uproar and indignance on lack of ethnic and gender diversity in Hollywood. This trended right after no minorities were nominated in any of the four acting categories for the second consecutive year. Prominent celebrities, including Jada Pinkett Smith and filmmaker Spike Lee boycott the Oscars as protest.
However, what viewers may not have been prepared for was Rock's double-barelled assault on the issue of Hollywood racism.
In one of the most famous quotes of the night, Rock dealt with the issue head-on, no apologies; no hedging. "Everyone wants to know: Is Hollywood racist? Is it burning-cross racist? No. It's a different kind of racist," Rock was reported as saying by CNN. "You're damn right Hollywood's racist, but not the racist that you've grown accustomed to. Hollywood is sorority racist. It's like, 'We like you, Rhonda, but you're not a Kappa.'
Humor was Rock's method throughout the evening. Rock had himself been asked to step down as host in protest, another issue he dealt with using humor, New York's Pix11 reported. "I thought about quitting," he said. "I thought about it real hard. But they're not going to cancel the Oscars because I quit. And the last thing I need is to lose another job to Kevin Hart."
But Rock did not ignore the issue - his humor was interspersed with serious statements, like those of other black leaders who have appealed for Hollywood to be more inclusive in hiring and casting minorities.
