"Hollywood is sorority racist": When Chris Rock slammed Academy Awards for being racist

During the 2016 Oscars awards ceremony, Chris Rock criticized the Academy Awards for being racist towards black people in showbiz. Rock's opening monologue on stage addressed the #OscarsSoWhite controversy as soon as the ceremony began.

The comedian's monologue described the racism in Hollywood as “sorority”style. Addressing the crowd assembled at the Dolby Theater, he said,

"You realize if they nominated hosts, I wouldn't get this job. You'd be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now. You're damn right Hollywood is racist. Hollywood is sorority racist. It's like, 'We like you Rhonda, but you're not a Kappa."

While Rock was able to make the audience laugh about the serious topic, he still took the opportunity to address the issue.

For years, the Academy Awards have been accused of preferring white actors over people of color, and people were expecting Chris Rock to address this issue in his opening monologue.

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Chris Rock acknowledged the Oscars' diversity issue in the 2016 award ceremony

The #OscarsSoWhite controversy has been around for ages. However, in 2015, it became noticeable after the nominees for the previous year's awards were announced and favorites like Selma director Ava Duvernay and star David Oyelowo were not included.

Writer April Reign launched the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag to convey her message about the discrimination done by the Academy. The hashtag went viral and became a tool for anyone frustrated by the lack of minority performers and filmmakers being honored.

Chris Rock opened the Academy Awards ceremony by bluntly calling it the "White People's Choice Awards." He went on to say that Hollywood was racist and joked that he wouldn't have gotten the job of hosting if they were nominated.

He said,

"I'm here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the White People's Choice Awards"

Rock then put the controversy into proper historical perspective and added why African-Americans didn't protest similar “white-outs” in the 1950s or ‘60s. He said,

"We had real things to protest [in the '60s]. We were too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won Best Cinematographer. When your grandmother is swinging from a tree, it's really hard to care about Best Documentary Foreign Short."

He concluded his monolog by saying,

"We want opportunities. We want the black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors. That's it, not just once."

The 1960s were particularly difficult for black people due to excessive racism and discrimination. It was during this era that the Civil Rights Movement called for the abolition of legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United States. This led to an increase in racially motivated crimes like r*pe, murder, and lynching, which were at an all-time high. The black community had to fight back to earn their rights and equal opportunity.

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Chris Rock won three Grammy Awards

Born on February 7, 1965, Christopher Julius Rock is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Over the years, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best comedy album and four Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as a Golden Globe Award nomination.

Rock was No. 5 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time and was even ranked No. 5 on Rolling Stone's list of the 50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time.

From 1990 to 1993, Chris Rock was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. He appeared in the films New Jack City, Boomerang, and CB4, which he also wrote and produced. He rose to stardom with Bring the Pain in 1996.

Chris Rock also starred in films like Nurse Betty, Down to Earth, Pootie Tang, Head of State, The Longest Yard, the Madagascar film series, I Think I Love My Wife, Death at a Funeral, and more. He was involved in an incident with Will Smith on stage at the Oscars 2022 Awards.