Demonstrators gather outside Oscars ceremony to protest #OscarsSoWhite

Chris Rock, in a white tux, opened the 88th Academy Awards with a blistering monologue that addressed the #OscarsSoWhite controversy that hung over the ceremony like a white cloud.

“I counted at least 15 black people in that montage”, said Rock, after he took the stage following an opening montage of films from 2015.

“This year, things are going to be a little different”, he added. “If they nominated hosts, I wouldn’t even get this job”.

Director Spike Lee and actor Will Smith shunned this year’s ceremony, although a wider Oscars boycott largely failed to gather steam among Hollywood A-listers.

Yet Rock also made clear that there were true concerns for the community, pointing to the string of police killings of African Americans that have triggered the Black Lives Matter protest movement. We was too busy being raped and lynched then to be busy wondering who won Best Cinematographer. “When your grandmother is swinging from a tree it’s really hard to care about best documentary sport”. “Not just once. All you guys get great parts all the time”. “Hollywood is sorority racist”, he said, referring to how white industry power players politely exclude minorities from their projects.

We have as much creativity in black actors and actresses than every other community in this nation. “Jada says she’s not coming…” You know why men get asked more?

Asking why it had become such an issue in 2016, he simply stated: “Why are we protesting this Oscars?”.

The 10-minute monologue was nearly completely about the racism he and actors of colors face in Hollywood.

The 88th Academy Awards are airing from Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre. And black people didn’t protest.

But the fact of the matter is, the Oscars absolutely have a race problem, one that speaks loudly to a bigger issue.

He ended on an upbeat note, referencing criticism by some commentators that female Oscars attendees seem to spend more time discussing their gowns than pertinent topics on the red carpet. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio who played a role in the revenant is also being tipped to take home his first best Oscar actor.