What’s good, the Academy?
Oscars host Chris Rock lived up to expectations and confronted the issue of lack of racial diversity at the 88th Annual Academy Awards during his opening speech.
Earlier this year, after the list of nominees were released, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite trended on social media, as netizens and celebrities protested after no black actors were nominated.
Peppered with his signature humor throughout, Chris Rock delivered a monologue that addressed the flaws in the 
The 51-year-old comedian quipped:
“Hey! Well, I’m here at the Academy Awards – otherwise known as the white People’s Choice awards.”
Chris also joked about counting at least 15 black people from the Oscars montage.
The comedian also addressed the calls of activists who suggested that he boycott the Oscars.
“People are like, ‘Chris, you should boycott. Chris, you should quit.’ I thought about quitting. 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.”
After joking about a fellow black comedian and suggesting that he was chosen as host due to his race, Chris addressed the issue head-on.
Everyone wants to know: Is Hollywood racist? Is it burning-cross racist? No. It’s a different kind of racist.
“You’re damn right Hollywood is racist. Hollywood is sorority racist… But things are changing. We got a black Rocky this year. Some people call it ‘Creed.’ I call it ‘Black Rocky.’
Finally, he summed up the whole thing and made a stand:
“It’s not about boycotting. We want opportunities. We want black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors. That’s it.”
Did you catch Chris Rock’s opening speech? What do you think of it?
