Oscars 2016: Celebrities react to Chris Rock's hosting gig
Chris Rock opened the Oscars with a scathing monologue about racism in Hollywood that included such lines as:
- "We were too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer" in the 1960s.
- "This year, in the In Memoriam package, it's just going to be black people that were shot by the cops on the way to the movies."
The monologue, which was longer than nine minutes, made big waves on social media, especially with celebrities.
How'd he do?
The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, with thumbs up emojis from Oprah Winfrey and huge praises from the comedy community. Chelsea Handler even said, "Quite possibly the best opening monologue to the Oscars," followed by an expletive about how great the writing was.
But the praise wasn't unanimous, with Angie Harmon arguing that black actors did deserve nominations this year, and Demi Lovato employing crying emojis.
Shonda Rhimes didn't say anything about Rock, but she did call Stacey Dash a fool in her tweet -- we're assuming she didn't appreciate Dash's Black History Month bit.
Meanwhile, activist DeRay McKesson chided the comedian, saying, "There are still 'real things to protest,' @chrisrock. Like, police violence. And the #FlintWaterCrisis."
What did you think about Chris Rock's opening monologue?
