Oscars 2016: 'Oscars So White' Skit Features Black Actors in Nominated Movies
Leslie Jones is one mean bear in "The Revenant."
— -- Heading into the Oscars, it was a given that host Chris Rock would address the lack of diversity among the nominees in a funny way. With one of the opening skits, Rock did that and more, in what is guaranteed to be one of the most buzzed-about moments of the night.
In the skit, Rock re-shot nominated films using black actors. Whoopi Goldberg kicked it off with a parody of the film "Joy." In her scene, she was mopping up behind Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, urging her to "say something." Also featured in the hilarious skit was Tracy Morgan in "The Danish Girl" and Leslie Jones as the bear in "The Revenant."
Rock himself replaced Matt Damon as astronaut Mark Watney in "The Martian." In the skit, Watney is still stranded in space, but his white co-workers, which include Kristen Wiig and Jeff Daniels, don't want to pay "white dollars" to help save a black astronaut.
"Oscars So White" had been trending on social media and been a topic of discussion ever since last month when no actor or actress of color was nominated in the four main categories, including Best Actor and Actress.
Last week, Rock teased fans ahead of today's show, tweeting on Friday, "See you Sunday... #blackout #oscars" along with a video of a static-filled screen.
Legends like Spike Lee and Will Smith chose not to attend tonight's ceremony because of the lack of diversity in nominated films. This is the second year in a row of all-white acting nominees.
