Entertainment Tonight reports that Chris Rock will not be stepping down from hosting the 88th Academy Awards following the #OscarsSoWhite controversy — which centers on the fact that no African-Americans were recognized as nominees in any acting categories for the second year in a row. Instead, he’s rewriting his opening monologue to address Hollywood’s diversity problem, according to Academy Awards producer Reginald Hudlin.
“Chris is hard at work. He and his writing staff locked themselves in a room,” Hudlin told ET. “As things got a little provocative and exciting, he said, ‘I’m throwing out the show I wrote and writing a new show.'”
So, what do white folks at the Academy think of Rock’s move? “Yes, the Academy is ready for him to do that,” Hudlin stated. ”They’re excited about him doing that. They know that’s what we need. They know that’s what the public wants, and we deliver what the people want.”