Despite some calls for him to quit, comedian Chris Rock will not back down from hosting the 88th Academy Awards next month. In fact, producer Reginald Hudlin said that Rock is re-writing his monologue to feature jokes about the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.
Hudlin told Entertainment Tonight that Rock had actually finished writing the monologue a few weeks ago, but then changed it after Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith decided to boycott.
“Chris is hard at work. He and his writing staff locked themselves in a room,” Hudlin said at the NAACP Image Awards Nominee Luncheon on Saturday. “As things got a little provocative and exciting, he said, 'I'm throwing out the show I wrote and writing a new show.'”
Hudlin said that Rock is “thorough,” adding that, “He's that brilliant, and I have 1000 percent confidence that he will deliver something that people will be talking about for weeks.”
Hudlin added that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which pledged to make changes to its membership rules, is ready to hear Rock joke about the all-white field of acting nominees.
“They're excited about him doing that. They know that's what we need,” Hudlin said. “They know that's what the public wants, and we deliver what the people want.”
Rock has noticeably remained silent while other actors have spoken out about the controversy and Tyrese Gibson even called for Rock to quit. Rock did jokingly call the Oscars the “White BET Awards” on Jan. 15, but it looks like he’s saving the rest of his material for Feb. 28, when the Oscars are handed out.
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