Oscars 2016: Chris Rock's ten most controversial jokes

Oscars host Chris Rock addressed the ceremony's race controversy with a series of jokes at last night's bash.

The Academy Awards gala was boycotted by several industry grandees in protest at the lack of ethnic diversity among this year's nominees – all 20 hopefuls in the best acting or supporting acting categories were white.

Opening the show, Rock, who had faced calls to join the boycotters himself, asked the star-studded crowd: "Is Hollywood racist? You're damn right Hollywood's racist."

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But it was not "burning cross racist," he added. "It's a different type of racist".

His ten-minute monologue went on to address the controversy and other issues with a series of jokes. Here are ten of the sharpest barbs.

On his position as host: "I'm here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the white people's choice awards. You realise, if they nominated hosts, I wouldn't even get this job. You'd be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now."

On the campaign to ask women about more than their outfits on the red carpet: "You're not allowed to ask women what they're wearing anymore. It's a whole thing: you have to 'ask her more'. They ask the men more because the men are all wearing the same outfits… If George Clooney showed up with a lime green tux on and a swan coming out his ass, someone would ask, 'What are you wearing, George?'"

On Jamie Foxx's depiction of Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic: "Jamie Foxx was so good in Ray that they went to the hospital and unplugged the real Ray Charles. It's like, 'We don't need two of these.'"

On "my favourite actor in the world" Paul Giamatti: " Last year he's in 12 Years A Slave, hates black people; this year he's in Straight Outta Compton, loves black people. Last year he's whipping Lupita; this year he's crying at Eazy-E's funeral. Now that's range. Ben Affleck can't do that."

On race: "Things are changing. We got a black Rocky this year… That's a big statement because Rocky takes place in a world where white athletes are as good as black athletes. So Rocky is a science-fiction movie."

On why ethnic diversity has not been a hotter issue before: "I'm sure there was no black nominees some of those years - say '62, '63 - and black people did not protest. Why? Because we had real things to protest at the time. We were too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer."

On why he didn't join the boycott: "So I thought about quitting, I thought about it real hard, but I realised they're going to have the Oscars anyway; they're not going to cancel because I quit. The last thing I need is to lose another job to [fellow comedian] Kevin Hart."

On police violence: "This year things are going to be a little different at the Oscars. This year in the In Memoriam, it's just going to be black people who were shot by the cops on their way to the movies. Yes, I said it."

On the boycotters: "Jada [Pinkett Smith] boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties. I wasn't invited."

On Hollywood's racism: "Is Hollywood racist? You damn right Hollywood's racist. Hollywood is sorority racist. It's like, 'We like you, Rhonda, but you're not a Kappa'."