Chris Rock Will Host The Oscars, But Will Be Rewriting The Opening
Chris Rock has decided not to step down from hosting the 2016 Oscars, instead he has decided to make his mark and is rewriting his opening monologue for the awards show.
According to ABC News, Chris Rock had his speech for the Oscars ready a week ago, however with all the diversity controversy that has been following the awards show he decided to go hard at work to create a new opening. Chris Rock has all intentions to bring to light the diversity issue within the academy awards and he stands as host on February 28. He even plans to use the OscarsSoWhite hashtag that has been all over social media since the controversy has started.
It was believed with all the African-American celebrities that have boycotted the awards, that Chris Rock would step down from hosting the 2016 Oscar Awards. Some celebrities believed that his stepping down would be a step backwards to get the awards show where it needs to be. Social media has also been filled with posts urging Chris Rock to host the show.
“The beauty of Rock hosting is that The Oscars already know where he stands on race in Hollywood.?.?. They knew what they were getting and they booked him anyway. He is the perfect person to host, unless he says nothing.”
The Oscars are ready for whatever Chris Rock is going to bring to the stage, in fact they encourage it. Reginald Hudlin, the Oscars producer, was happy to comment on what Chris Rock is doing for the Oscars.
“Chris is hard at work. He and his writing staff locked themselves in a room. As things got a little provocative and exciting, he said, ‘I’m throwing out the show I wrote and writing a new show.’
“Chris is that thorough. He’s that brilliant, and I have 1000 percent confidence that he will deliver something that people will be talking about for weeks.
“You should expect [Oscars diversity jokes]. And, yes, the Academy is ready for him to do that. They’re excited about him doing that. They know that’s what we need. They know that’s what the public wants, and we deliver what the people want.”
Chris Rock has already jokingly referred to the 2016 Oscars as the White BET awards, which should give an idea as what will be in store for the stage. All the nominated actors of the Oscar awards, which include Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, and Kate Winslet, are white, which led to the controversy that has been spilling over from the 2015 Oscars. Among the celebrities that have decided not to attend the awards are Jade Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, and Spike Lee. The Smiths have expressed how they feel regarding the lack of diversity to the media.
The #Oscars. The White BET Awards.https://t.co/8qjLR0uysI
— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) January 15, 2016
Even the cast of Saturday Night Live took a stab at the Oscars controversy in one of their sketch in Saturday night’s show. The sketch shows “The White Guys” taking home the awards at fictional Screen Guild Awards.
Chris Rock will be hosting for his second time, his first since 2005, and should be the breath of fresh air. Tune in on February 28 to see Chris Rock, rock the Oscars.
[Image by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images]
