For the second time in a row, the Oscars did not have a host to run the awards show, but Chris Rock and Steve Martin delivered an opening monologue that addressed the lack of a host.
“They don’t really have hosts anymore, why is that?” Martin asked.
“Twitter,” Rock responded. “Everybody’s got an embarrassing tweet somewhere. I know I do.”
That comment was a reference to tweets from Kevin Hart, who stepped down from his hosting position last year after insensitive tweets from his past resurfaced.
“Now, a couple of years ago, there was a big disaster here at the Oscars when they accidentally read out the wrong name. And it was nobody’s fault, but they have guaranteed that this will not happen this year because the Academy has switched to the new Iowa Caucus app,” Martin said.
His comments poked fun at the chaos that followed the Iowa Caucus after the app used to tabulate results encountered an error that led to a days-long delay in reporting the results.
Watch the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsvfOAd8ohU
Additionally, the duo managed to mention the ongoing homeless problem that has plagued the streets of Los Angeles, California.
“I don’t know Steve. I’m a little conflicted,” Rock said, “You know, I was driving here tonight and seeing the terrible homeless problem in L.A.”
“Thank Chris, so many stars!” Martin interjected.
President Donald Trump has blasted California’s governor for his handling of the homelessness problem in the state and warned that the federal government would “get involved” if the state doesn’t address the issue.
Additionally, they addressed the lack of diversity among the nominees.
“You know, back in 1929 there were no black acting nominees,” Martin said.
“Yeah, now in [2020] we got one,” Rock added.
“Amazing growth,” Martin quipped.
The lack of diversity among Oscar nominees has been an issue in recent years, the hashtag “Oscars so white” has been used to bring awareness to a lack of diversity at the award show.