Lost in the controversial haze of Will Smith’s antics on Oscar Night was a separate comment made by Chris Rock that outraged yet another award-winning recipient. Joseph Patel, an East Indian American film producer, recently revealed how appalled he was when Chris Rock jokingly referred to him and his Summer of Soul collaborators as “Amir Thompson and Four White Guys.”
The comment came shortly after Rock declared them the winners of an Oscar for the “Best Documentary Feature” category. In all actuality, Joseph Patel identifies as South Asian, while another member of the production team, Questlove, identifies as African American. So, technically, Chris Rock overlooked the presence of two ethnic creatives, a notion that is far too common in Hollywood. Thus, upon having time to reflect upon his accomplishment as one of the first South Asians to claim an Academy Award, Patel felt compelled to stand up for his community and call out Chris Rock for a joke that he felt was untimely and inappropriate.
In a series of tweets aimed at Chris Rock, Patel recently condemned the legendary stand-up comedian for referring to him and Questlove as White guys, while also demeaning the contributions of his Caucasian colleagues. The award-winning producer threw shade at the Rock for overshadowing what should have been a celebratory moment for all four of the producers of Summer of Soul and the South Asian community as a whole.
“The reason that makes me so so very angry is because I was so proud to be one of a handful of South Asians to have ever won an Oscar in the history of the award,” Patel wrote. “I was ecstatic that I was the 3rd South Asian to win that night…Three South Asians winning on the same night – that’s never happened before! And it’s meaningful! It’s history!”
Patel continued, “What I didn’t hear in that moment walking to [the] stage but was told of afterwards is what Chris Rock said when reading our name from the winner’s card…WHAT IN THE ACTUAL F**K????? I got back home to New York last night and saw the ceremony on my DVR and didn’t have the stomach to watch it…I probably never will. Thank you, Chris [Rock] – You absolute f**king d**k.”
The tweets have since been deleted, but you can view some of them by scrolling up. Chris Rock has yet to respond publically to Joseph Patel’s remarks. Stay tuned.
Source: NY Post
