“Because we had real things to protest at the time”, Rock said.
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Chris Rock, who was the host this year, started the Oscars with a speech targeting the elephant in the room-this is the second year in a row in which every nominee was white. We want black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors. The only other movie that won multiple awards was The Revenant, which won three Oscars, Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Director (Alejandro González Iñárritu) and Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki).
And while his last statement rightfully may have made many feel uncomfortable, it’s true, black people did have much more pressing issues to protest. The 88th annual show was the least-watched Academy Awards since 2008, when “No Country for Old Men” took the top prize and Jon Stewart hosted. You should quit.’ How come there’s only unemployed people that tell you to quit something, you know?
But most Oscar anticipation surrounded the controversy over the lack of racial diversity among nominees and calls to boycott the event.
Following his win, Leonardo revealed he was “overwhelmed with gratitude” and astonished by the number of people who had campaigned for him to triumph when nominations were announced.
“Did you really use your STAGE to tear down and diminish one of the strongest most fearless black women IN this town as the world watched???” But I realized, they’re going to have the Oscars anyway.
He suggested that Jada Pinkett Smith joined the boycott by African Americans because her husband, actor and rapper Will Smith, was not nominated for “Concussion”.
He then goes on to check out the book on keeping the Oscar “maintained” (this is a thing?) and DiCaprio asks, “What does it need?” while looking at a How-to Oscar guide. Doesn’t she have a TV show? “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties”, he said, referring to the sultry singer.
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“You get mad that Will was this good and didn’t get nominated [for his role in “Concussion”]”.
