“I’m here at the Academy Awards — otherwise known as the White People’s Choice Awards,” said host Chris Rock, warming up the audience for an Oscars in which issues from race, to climate change, and even “weirdo billionaires” were all up for grabs.
Here are nine more of the best quotes from the night.
#OscarsSoWhite
“Is Hollywood racist? You’re damn right Hollywood is racist. But it ain’t that racist that you’ve grown accustomed to. Hollywood is sorority racist. It’s like: ‘We like you Rhonda, but you’re not a Kappa,’ ” Rock said in his opening monologue.
Meanwhile, Whoopi Goldberg kept up the race discussion in a skit imagining more black actors on screen.
“Maybe one day they’ll make a movie about a skinny white lady who invented a mop. … Of course a black girl would have to invent the cure for cancer before they even give her a TV movie,” Goldberg said on the film “Joy.”
Best director Alejandro Inarritu also weighed in on the #OscarsSoWhite debate.
“What a great opportunity for our generation to really liberate ourselves from all prejudice, and this tribal thinking, and make sure that once and forever that the color of our skin becomes as irrelevant as the length of our hair,” he said in his best director acceptance speech.
“Weirdo billionaires”
“If you don’t want big money to control government, don’t vote for candidates that take money from big banks, oil or weirdo billionaires — stop,” said Adam McKay in his best adapted screenplay acceptance speech for “The Big Short.”
Leo shines spotlight on climate change
“We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters or the big corporations, but who speak for all of humanity,” said Leonardo DiCaprio in his best actor acceptance speech.
Sam Smith’s (not first) LGBT speech
“I read an article a few months ago by Sir Ian McKellen, and he said that no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar, and if this is the case — even if this isn’t the case — I want to dedicate this to the LGBT community all around the world,” said Sam Smith in his best original song acceptance speech for the Bond theme “Writing’s On The Wall.”
‘We have to make sure this never happens again’
“We made this film for all the journalists who have and continue to hold the powerful accountable, and for the survivors whose courage and will to overcome is really an inspiration to all,” said Tom McCarthy in his best original screenplay acceptance speech for “Spotlight.”
Louis C.K.’s unexpected audition for 2017 Oscars host
“This Oscar is going home in a Honda Civic … it’s going to be the nicest thing they ever own in their life. It’s going to give them anxiety to keep it in their crappy apartment,” said Louis C.K. on presenting the award for best documentary short.
Tina Fey gets star-struck
“I literally started clapping when I saw Charlize Theron. She’s so beautiful,” said Tina Fey on seeing the South African actor.
