This is outstanding, thanks so much for pieces like these.

The show was great, but I wasn't nearly as impressed with his performance as I was GIllian Anderson, the girl that played Katie — heck even the little girl in the show was more impressive in my opinion. Again, the show was great but he didn't really show me any significant chops until his interrogation in the last…

I could have been wearing it instead of Zendaya, and I'm as white as they come

Who's the real idiot at E?

Regarding that Sean Penn fiasco, let's take a moment to remember Sean's utterly humorless response when Chris Rock hosted the Oscars in 2005. Chris made a joke about Jude Law, which was basically "Damn, Jude Law sure is in a lot of movies lately," which is like the most innocuous Hollywood joke possible.

I find this image pretty powerful and telling of what was going on in that room...

I forgot about that! I think it was actually Sean Penn who complained. I predict Chris Rock will be back soon though. It was way back in like 2005 that he hosted!?!

Deferential? Not to the two black people he was harassing to the point that sensible folks were annoyed and embarrassed on their behalf. When he told Octavia "no snacking" I just about changed the channel. I thought some of the non-racist jokes were fucking rude too; slamming Snowden with his girlfriend on the stage?…

And chastises her when he thinks she's not doing her work!! What the genuine fuck?

I don't know why people bother to watch anymore. There is very little diversity, the show runs way too long, and the winners of all the big awards are pretty much known well in advance.

I think that the context of the night (the criticism for how white the Oscars are) + Octavia Spencer's history as literally winning her Oscar playing the help is what made the joke so uncomfortable. Even though it seemed like an innocuous, well-meaning joke, the other factors I mentioned made it incredibly tone-deaf.

I agree with you. I heard that criticism elsewhere and had the same reaction you did. To me it was a noticeable stretch because the whole bit was just so dumb and awful and unnecessary that it seemed superfluous to find MORE things wrong with it. NOT DEFENDING THE BIT AT ALL, because it was just sooooo stupid, BUT…

Two, if you count Emmanuel Lubezki, who is also Mexican and won his second Oscar. Besides, two Mexican directors have won Oscars two years in a row. I know, baby steps, but believe me, for the Latino community that is HUGE.

It's not a stretch at all. As a black woman, the "joke" made me incredibly uncomfortable for the same reason Kara described.

That bit they forced Octavia into was so fucked up. I don't understand why it was an idea. Or why so many people went along with it that it wound up in the actual broadcast. The racial politics of the ceremony were pointed enough without taking one of the few women of color to ever be honored with an acting prize at…

i thought that Joke or what ever it was: was racist, sexist, rude and just wrong. it was a very stupid thing to do in a 1st place.

Maybe they alway trot out the President of the Academy but having Cheryl Boone Isaacs come out last night to toot the horn of the Academy felt like egregious pandering. "See?? Our president is a black woman, we can't be racist sexists!!"

Not without a green card joke being thrown in (by everyone's favorite woman-beating white guy) for good measure, though

I knew she could sing, but when I realized she was totally hitting ALL of the Julie Andrews notes, my jaw dropped.