Chris Rock Calls the Oscars the 'White BET Awards'
Could this be the most controversial Oscars yet?
Host Chris Rock tweeted a new ad for the Academy Awards on Friday, in which he lists off reasons to watch the telecast, including "Presenter cleavage" and "I might curse." In the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite backlash, the 50-year-old comedian wrote alongside the video, "The #Oscars. The White BET Awards."
The #Oscars. The White BET Awards.
https://t.co/8qjLR0uysI
— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) January 15, 2016
WATCH: Sam Smith and More Stars React to 2016 Oscar Nominations
For the second year in a row, the Academy has exclusively nominated white actors for the show's top honors, while performances by actors of color in critically acclaimed films like Straight Outta Compton and Creed went unrecognized.
On Saturday, Jada Pinkett Smith, whose husband, Will Smith, was snubbed for his performance in Concussion, suggested a potential boycott of the Oscars.
"At the Oscars, people of color are always welcomed to give out awards, even entertain, but we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments," she tweeted. "Should people of color refrain from participating all together?"
WATCH: Chris Rock Dreams in Gold in First Ad for 2016 Oscars
Rock, who last hosted the Oscars in 2005, has always been outspoken about race issues in Hollywood. Recently, he commented on Jennifer Lawrence’s essay about the wage gap for women.
"Black women have the hardest gig in show business," he told The New Yorker. "You hear Jennifer Lawrence complaining about getting paid less, because she's a woman -- if she was black, she'd really have something to complain about."
Meanwhile, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs told ET that the lack of diversity in this year's nominations is "disappointing." Find out what else she had to say in the below video:
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