One person has a serious bone to pick with Chris Rock after the Oscars — and not exactly for the reason you might guess.
It’s no secret that The Slap has overshadowed just about everything else that occurred on Sunday night. But there was another incident that took place at the same time that has another filmmaker furious with Rock (and Will Smith)!
As we all know, the King Richard star slapped the presenter after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair, something we should remind is caused by a medical condition. Visibly stunned, Chris then continued the show by doing what he was actually there to do: presenting the Best Documentary Feature award. The prize went to Summer of Soul, produced by Questlove (real name Ahmir Thompson), Robert Fyvolent, David Dinerstein, and Joseph Patel — the last of which (above, far left) is fed up with the situation! But it’s not because the victorious moment was clouded by the slap fiasco — it’s because of another insensitive joke on Chris’ part that likely went unnoticed by many until now!
Related: Jada Pinkett Smith Was Laughing AFTER Will Slapped Chris Rock? See The New Video…
After opening the envelope to reveal the category winner, the 57-year-old comedian announced:
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Cannot Be Televised). Ahmir Thompson and four white guys.”
Yeesh. Just because Questlove is the most famous of the bunch doesn’t mean that the other men don’t deserve their recognition!! Worst of all — they weren’t all white! Patel is Indian-American and his win was historic, as he vented on Twitter on Wednesday:
“The reason that makes me SO SO VERY ANGRY is because I was so proud to be one of a handful of South Asians to have ever won an Oscar in the history of the award. I was ecstatic that I was the 3RD South Asian to win that night.”
Riz Ahmed and Aneil Karina won Best Live Action Short for The Long Goodbye earlier in the night, FYI. On those amazing victories, he added:
“Three South Asians winning on the same night — that’s never happened before! And it’s meaningful! It’s history!”
That’s wonderful! Too bad everyone was too focused on the feud to notice, but you can rewatch it all unfold in the clip (below):
It’s reasonable to think Chris was trying to lighten the mood after the shocking situation that just took place — and the quip was probably missed by most viewers given the confusion and chaos of the moment — but it still was definitely a low blow to the hard-working documentarians who were trying to celebrate one of the biggest moments in their career. Not to mention that the joke was totally inaccurate! Joseph continued:
“I’m a big boy — I can take a joke. Comedians make jokes. But not in that moment. What a s**tty, disrespectful thing to do. I got back home to New York last night and saw the ceremony on my DVR and didn’t have the stomach to watch it. I probably never will.”
Ugh. That’s heartbreaking!! Earning an Academy Award is an incredible achievement only few will ever accomplish. It should have been a night to remember — and now Joseph doesn’t even want to relive it. What a bummer.
Related: The Academy Lied?? Sources Claim Will Was Not Formally Asked to Leave Oscars Following Slap
The producer went on to say:
“Thank you, Chris — You absolute f**king d**k.”
Will’s actions weren’t forgotten either as Patel then shifted his commentary onto the Best Actor winner’s controversial actions, complaining:
“I think what Will did was selfish. It robbed the category of its moment. It robbed the other excellent and amazing films of their moment to be acknowledged in what was a STRONG year for docs. And it robbed Summer of Soul and our team of our moment. Of a loud, enthusiastic cheer for a celebrated film.”
It’s true, people were definitely still nervous and quiet. The Becoming Khalid director concluded:
“I never need a statue to tell me how nice I am – but it sure helps. And what both Will AND Chris did really stained what should have been a beautiful moment for us. Also it goes without saying I speak for me and me alone. Not Ahmir and not our coproducers.”
The former Head of Content at Vevo has since deleted his tweets, saying about the reaction to his comments:
“We reached the unproductive portion of the viral Twitter thread. I said what I needed to say and feel at peace with it. Some of y’all are weirdos.”
Of course, at this point Will has apologized to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, his fellow nominees, and Chris Rock in a brief statement on Monday, sharing remorse for his choice to get violent over a “joke about Jada’s medical condition.” Chris has not apologized to Jada or to Patel — he did reveal at his standup show on Wednesday that he is still “processing what happened.” He’s made no indication that he feels sorry for his “white guys” jab at the producers.
Thoughts on the other controversy we all missed??
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