The host of the 88th annual Academy Awards is rewriting his opening monologue amid the outrage over the Oscar all-white nominees.
- Jan 25, 2016
AceShowbiz - Expect jokes about white Oscars from Chris Rock at the upcoming 88th annual Academy Awards! The comedian is confirmed that he will not back down from his gig as a host. Instead, he is rewriting an opening monologue to address the diversity issue.
"You should expect [#OscarsSoWhite jokes]," Oscar producer Reginald Hudlin spilled to Entertainment Tonight. "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 is hard at work. He and his writing staff locked themselves in a room," the producer explained. "As things got a little provocative and exciting, he said, 'I'm throwing out the show I wrote and writing a new show.' " He added, "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."
In fact, Chris has already weighed in on the controversy. "The #Oscars. The White BET Awards," so the funnyman captioned a commercial promoting his upcoming hosting gig at the February 28 awards show.
The #Oscars. The White BET Awards. https://t.co/8qjLR0uysI
� Chris Rock (@chrisrock) January 15, 2016
Fellow black star Don Cheadle is excited about what the host has to offer amid the outcry over the all-white nominees. "This should be a career-defining moment for Chris Rock," the actor told PEOPLE. "I mean, there is no one better poised, in my opinion, or equipped to go in on this sh---."
"And I hope when he does, he skewers everybody," Cheadle added, "the people who are complaining about it, the people who were passed up, the people that weren't passed up, the whole idea of being passed up for this award and what it means, racism, the lack of diversity - all of it."
