Chris Rock is rewriting his Oscars monologue after several celebrities said they would no longer attend the awards show because no black actors were nominated for an award.
Despite rumors that Rock would drop out, a producer for the Academy Awards said he’s working on a new script.
“Chris is hard at work,” Reginald Hudlin said during an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “He and his writing staff locked themselves in a room. As things got a little provocative and exciting, he said, ‘I’m throwing out the show I wrote and writing a new show.'” (RELATED: Danny DeVito On America: ‘We Are A Bunch Of Racists’)
(Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
“Chris is that thorough,” Hudlin added. “He’s that brilliant, and I have 1,000 percent confidence that he will deliver something that people will be talking about for weeks.” (RELATED: Spike Lee On Oscars Boycott: I’m Confident I’ll Be On ‘The Right Side Of History’)
Hudlin said Rock plans on joking about the diversity backlash.
“The Academy is ready for him to do that,” he continued. “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.”
Update: A rep for Rock told the Hollywood Reporter that he “has made no decisions about the content of the show.”
WATCH: