In keeping with tradition, I guess it wouldn't be the Oscars without a racist moment from the host.
While everybody's understandably obsessed with that wild Best Picture mistake that capped the 89th Academy Awards, I'd like to point your attention to another moment in the middle of Sunday night's show, that perfectly illustrated why host Jimmy Kimmel is still kind of an ass when it comes to joking about people of color.
During one bit, the late night personality welcomed a group of unsuspecting tourists who found themselves smack into the middle of Oscar proceedings. Imagine being on one of those sightseeing bus tours, thinking you're going to see some dusty Oscar exhibit, then being led to the front row of Hollywood's biggest night.
It was a silly, fun moment that was, or course, marred by Kimmel's casual racism.
One of the super-surprised tour participants was actually a friend to this blog and former Angry Reader of the Week, Yulree Chun, who suddenly found herself rubbing elbows with the likes of Ryan Gosling and other A-listers. Meeting Kimmel, she introduced herself as "Yulree," a name that apparently baffled the host. It "rhymes with jewelry," she clarified. This clearly wasn't the first time she's had to explain the pronunciation.
But then, Kimmel asked Yulree's husband for his name. He responded, "Patrick," to which Kimmel remarked "See, that's a name." Are we really doing this? Making fun of seemingly "weird" or "non-traditional" names on national television for laughs? It was a relatively quick exchange, but it said everything about who holds the invitations this party. If you're the kind of person with a name like "Yulree" or "Mahershala" -- Oscar winner or not -- you're going to get clowned.
At least it looks like Yulree and Patrick had fun.
Hell of a way to spend a Sunday night.
