Of all the voices weighing in on #OscarsSoWhite, the one that has been the most noticeably silent is Oscar host Chris Rock. While many wondered if he would step down from the job, he hasn’t; however, it turns out Oscar producer Reginald Hudlin‘s bold promise that Rock was "throwing out the show" that was planned, and penning something new, was out of line.
Speaking with THR, Rock’s publicist paints a decidedly different picture. "Regarding Reggie Hudlin’s comments about Chris Rock’s Oscar hosting duties, neither he nor anyone else speaks for Chris," said Leslie Sloane. "Chris has made no decisions about the content of the show. All will be revealed on February 28th. We will not comment further on this."
It’s an interesting retort to the story Hudlin spun, and seems to suggest Rock wants to keep whatever he has up his sleeve as much of a surprise as possible. However, one wonders if there is any discord behind the scenes — certainly, under five weeks out from the show, seeing the publicist for the host correcting the public statements made by the producer doesn’t exactly conjure the image of a smoothly running ship.
It’s going to be an interesting month ahead, nonetheless, and we’re definitely curious to see how Rock — who penned an essay not that long ago about Hollywood’s race problem — will introduce what will be the most controversial Oscar show in recent memory.