Protesters call for diversity, rally ahead of Oscars

And, dear readers, Rock did not disappoint. Rock, who first hosted the Oscars in 2005, on Friday mysteriously tweeted a video of television static that he tagged “blackout”.

Rock was clearly psyched to live up to the high expectations set for his performance at the “White People’s Choice Awards”, as he put it. “Will (Smith) wasn’t nominated for ‘Concussion.’ It’s not fair, I get it”, he said. “Y’all would be watching Neil Patrick Harris“.

He joked that if Oscar hosts were chosen through a nominations process, “I wouldn’t even get this job”. “People tell me I should quit”. How come it’s only unemployed people who tell you to quit? He confessed he deliberated over joining the boycott of the Oscars and bowing out as host, but concluded: “The last thing I need is to lose another job to Kevin Hart“.

“Why this Oscars? What are we protesting this Oscars?”

“Man, I counted at least 15 black people on that montage”, said Rock. You got to figure that it happened in the 50s, in the 60s.

Rock also questioned why it’s taken society so long to point out the inequality in the yearly Oscars.

Rev. Al Sharpton, right, and activist Najee Ali lead a rally prior to the Academy Awards ceremony, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles in support of the nationwide tv tune-out protesting the lack of diversity in Hollywood. We were too busy getting raped and lynched to care who was up for best cinematographer. “When you’re hanging from a tree, it’s really hard to care about best documentary short”.

Ouch. Expect Jada Pinkett Smith to also boycott Chris Rock’s future comedy shows and holiday parties.

Veteran actor Louis Gossett Jr. sympathizes with the protesters who say the Oscars should better represent the nation’s diversity, but he and colleague Whoopi Goldberg had no interest in boycotting the event.

Anyone thinking Rock would slam the Academy’s voters alone probably has never listened to Rock’s stand-up: He looks for multiple sides of an issue, and multiple ways to make everyone uncomfortable. “As things got a little provocative and exciting, he said, ‘I’m throwing out the show I wrote and writing a new show'”. “It’s not fair. It’s also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West”.

He closed his monologue by saying, “It’s not about boycotting anything, we want opportunity”.

Rock added that black actors should get the same opportunities as white actors. What about Jamie Foxx?

Tonight, he’s considered a frontrunner for best actor for his portrayal of Hugh Glass in the 2016 adventure drama “The Revenant”. “Jamie Foxx is so good in Ray that they went to the hospital and unplugged Ray Charles”.

If “The Revenant”, directed by Mexican Alejandro Inarritu, wins best picture, it would mark the first time in Academy Awards history that a filmmaker directed two best picture winners in a row.