Last night, actor Chris Rock hosted a little show called the Academy Awards. His stint happened to take place amidst one of the biggest firestorms the event has ever seen: Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, and Spike Lee all boycotted in response to no black actors being nominated for an award, and Pinkett Smith kinda-sorta called for Rock to step down.
He didn’t, instead unleashing a monologue that spared no one but particularly not Pinkett-Smith. “How come there’s only unemployed people that tell you to quit something, you know? No one with a job ever tells you to quit,” he said. “Jada is going to boycott the Oscars—Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.”
The host also took on Hollywood’s systematic racism, and the separation of females and males in acting categories. And later, Rock did what every good dad has had to do at least once: Shill Girl Scout Cookies for his daughter at work.
Twitter had mixed reactions, with some people thinking he went too far, some thinking he didn’t go far enough, and some just glad he said anything about racism at all. A few people were notably absent from the social media conversation—like, for instance, Pinkett Smith—but here are some of the best tweets from last night:
Awesome work, @chrisrock. You killed it tonight. As always.
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) February 29, 2016
“It is late.” – Chris Rock rn and me every night by 9 pm #Oscars
— Erin La Rosa (@SideOfGinger) February 29, 2016
There are still “real things to protest,” @chrisrock. Like, police violence. And the #FlintWaterCrisis. #Oscars
— deray mckesson (@deray) February 29, 2016
#Oscars pic.twitter.com/Xt5ZWBYxKN
— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) February 29, 2016
First time Chris Rock has been upstaged by a small Asian child surely. #Oscars
— Michelle Collins (@michcoll) February 29, 2016
Yo, Chris Rock, that is not Compton! It’s Baldwin Hills!!! #oscars2016
— Lisa Horowitz (@LAeditor) February 29, 2016
Why can’t the #Oscars just entirely consist of millionaires forced to awkwardly hand over money to buy Chris Rock’s kids Girl Scout cookies?
— Mandy Stadtmiller (@mandystadt) February 29, 2016
“When your grandmother’s swinging from a tree it’s really hard to care about best documentary foreign short” Chris Rock #Oscars
— Black Intifada (@BlackShiite) February 29, 2016
Gifs of celebs reacting to Chris Rock’s monologuehttps://t.co/Y7S2K7vYvl pic.twitter.com/Cttui5WWCa
— dodai (@dodaistewart) February 29, 2016
Chris Rock shouted out “Black Lives Matter” “BET” and “Brooklyn” at the Oscars. Y’all better never call that man a sellout.
— Charlamagne Tha God (@cthagod) February 29, 2016
.@chrisrock may be doing it for the culture tonight. #OscarsSoWhite pic.twitter.com/kXFySgnt1I
— Johnetta Elzie (@Nettaaaaaaaa) February 28, 2016
I’d like to thank general racism for that great Chris Rock opening monologue.
— Lauren Bans (@LaurenBans) February 29, 2016
Welp @chrisrock murdered #oscars
— Amy Schumer (@amyschumer) February 29, 2016
Hm. Chris Rock is doing a lot of racism jokes that white people will find funny. #Oscars
— KB (@KaraRBrown) February 29, 2016
I know that you know that I know u r going to knock it out of the park tonight! @goodluckchris @chrisrock @Oscars_Live
— Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) February 28, 2016
is that the first “rape, lynch” joke by a host in Oscars history? Or did Bill Crystal do one in the 90’s. #OscarsSoWhite
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) February 29, 2016
Chris Rock’s #Oscars monologue, in a nutshell: pic.twitter.com/2f2c8wiZmD
— Andy Swift (@AndySwift) February 29, 2016
Chris Rock should replace Scalia
— Sean Vanaman (@vanaman) February 29, 2016
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