Neil Patrick Harris is getting some backlash after having David Oyelowo read a joke about the failure of the “black” version of Annie during the Oscars. Watch the video below, and tell us what you think.
The comedy bit came after Harris introduced Oyelowo to the crowd, who gave him warm applause. “Oh, sure, nowyou like him!” joked Harris, referring the the Academy Awards snubbing of Oyelowo’s performance in Selma.
After Oyelowo stood, Harris explained that he wanted to see if a joke’s punchline was funnier when read by someone with a British accent. Harris set it up: “This year, we said goodbye to some beloved movie franchises.”
Oyelowo continued, “We saw the last ever Hobbit movie, the last ever Night at the Museummovie, and the last ever attempt to remake Annie.” The latest version of Annie, of course, starred Quvenzhane Wallis in the title role and Jamie Foxx as her rich benefactor. “See? With a British accent, it’s not at all insulting,” declared Harris to a less-than-convinced Oyelowo.
The fact that Harris asked a black actor to make fun of a predominantly black movie’s failure on the same night he’d been infamously snubbed for a performance in a movie about the civil rights movement stirred up some controversy online, with a number of outlets slamming the decision. People on Twitter were also incensed. “Did they just make Martin Luther King do a black Annie joke?” asked one comedian.
“So you ask the Black actor to make a joke about how the latest Annie, who is Black, broke the Annie franchise. Special. #Oscars2015,” tweeted another person. A third critic wrote, “That was sketchy — bring out the black guy to do the joke about the ‘Annie’ remake bombing, in an Oscars that’s ignored black people.” Yet another observer noted, “Ask the snubbed actor who played MLK at #WhiteOscars to make fun of remake of Annie starring black actors? Interesting tactic. #Oscars2015.” What do you think? Watch the moment in the video below.
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