The actor/comedian had been the center of attention for his blatant diversity movement, #OscarsSoWhite, but the so called 'diversity movement' proved to be not so diverse, as seen in one of the host's opening sketches.
During the sketch, Rock brought three Asian children to the stage, posing as "bankers" from finance firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. His comment followed, "They sent us their most dedicated, accurate and hard-working representatives. Please welcome Ming Zhu, Bao Ling and David Moskowitz."
The host's attempt to somewhat lighten the joke did nothing to turn the situation over, as Rock added, "If anybody's upset about that joke, just tweet about it on your phone that was also made by these kids."
After the show, many Asian-American celebrities took to their SNS accounts to speak up against Rock's jokes, including Constance Wu from 'Fresh Off the Boat'. Wu wrote, "To parade little kids on stage w/no speaking lines merely to be the butt of a racist joke is reductive & gross."
For a host dedicated to diversity, Chris Rock's jab at Asian stereotypes of being diligent workers who are good at math, plus the jab at Asian child labor, is drawing much controversy online.
This year's Academy Awards happens to be where Actor Lee Byung Hun became the first Korean star to present an award at the ceremony.
What do you think of the controversy?
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