chris rock

Although some in the industry had called for Chris Rock to join the boycott of the 2016 Oscars, the actor and comedian will host the show as planned — though there will be some changes. Rock has reportedly tossed out much of his material in order to address the #OscarsSoWhite controversy that’s inspired Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith to boycott the ceremony, while the Academy has announced a sweeping initiative to increase diversity.

For the second year in a row, every actor nominated in all four acting categories for the Academy Awards is a white person. All 20 nominees for Best Actor and Actress and Best Supporting Actor and Actress are white people, reigniting the Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. And while many of us are comfortable in our power to merely comment via social media, there are a couple of strong voices who are fed up and ready to do something about it: director Spike Lee and actor Jada Pinkett-Smith have announced plans to boycott the Oscars this year, while the host of the 2016 awards himself has called the Academy out for their persistent negligence to nominate people of color.

We know, we know. A few weeks out from Halloween, and already Christmas specials are making their presence known. Still, we’re not ones to question Bill Murray, especially if the first promo for his star-studded, Sofia Coppola-directed Netflix special A Very Murray Christmas lives up to its promise.

Granted, it’s May, but when have you ever known Bill Murray to pop up when expected? The revered and eccentric comedian has finally locked down his long-discussed Christmas special with Sofia Coppola sending holiday cheer to Netflix this December with A Very Murray Christmas.

We knew going in that the SNL 40th anniversary special would be chock-full of just about every famous person who has ever walked within spitting distance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza and the opening monologue was quick to make use of this genuinely insane temporary cast of stars. Things got started on the right foot when the always-welcome Steve Martin took the stage ... but then he was joined by Tom Hanks. And then things got really crazy.

While I don't agree with everything Chris Rock says, I still laugh because he is funny! That's comedy. You don't have to agree to laugh. That's what bothers me about people who go politically ballistic whenever something is said or posted for obvious humor. Hey...roll with it. Take it for what it is!