Chris Rock Skewers Hollywood Racism in Oscars Opening Monologue

As expected, Chris Rock used his Oscars opening monologue as a vehicle to address the controversy over this year’s all-white slate of acting nominees. Though Rock disagreed with Jada Pinkett Smith’s Oscars boycott — “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. You weren’t invited!” — he agreed that some kind of direct action was needed. Maybe black categories, like Best Black Friend, would do it. But the joke of the night was Rock’s dig at Hollywood’s particular brand of racism: “Is Hollywood racist? You’re damn right Hollywood is racist. But it’s not the racism you know. Hollywood is sorority racist. ‘We like you Rhonda, but you’re not a Kappa.’”