As viewers and Hollywood stars waited to see how Academy Awards host Chris Rock would handle race in his opening monologue Sunday, facing a second straight year in which all 20 nominees for acting Oscars are white, protests flared outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
The Rev. Al Sharpton led a small demonstration near the red carpet. Some viewers planned a boycott of the broadcast. And a comic alternative to the Oscars called the All Def Movie Awards aired on the Fusion channel and on the Web earlier in the evening. The prerecorded lampoon of the Academy Awards was hosted by Chris Rock’s younger brother, Tony, and featured awards for best actor, best actress, and best director, as well as “Best Bad Muh [expletive],’’ “Most Helpful White Person,’’ and “Best Black Survivor.’’
Behind the parody was a serious message.
“It’s so important for little boys and little girls of color to see themselves on the screen,’’ said Denise Lathan, accepting a best actress award for her past acting work.
Down the street from the Dolby Theatre, Sharpton led several dozen demonstrators who held signs reading ‘‘Hollywood Must Do Better’’ and ‘‘Shame on You.’’
“This will be the last night of an all-white Oscars,’’ Sharpton vowed at the rally.
The lack of diversity among the acting nominees had brought back the Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, created after the nominees for last year’s Oscars were announced. The shutout of black actors led filmmaker Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith to announce that they would not attend the show.
Several top African-American directors, including Ryan Coogler, whose ‘‘Creed’’ featured Oscar nominee Sylvester Stallone, and Ava DuVernay, the director of the 2014 film “Selma,’’ were not at the Oscars. Instead, they hosted a live benefit in Flint, Mich., a city whose water has been contaminated.
Several white entertainers also entered the controversy.
“The Oscars are today! You know, the awards show where Leonardo DiCaprio is ‘overdue’ but black people can ‘wait till next year,’ tweeted Bette Midler.
Rock, meanwhile, kept silent in the run-up to the show. The comedian teased his performance with a pinned video on his Twitter page with the sardonic caption: “The #Oscars. The White BET Awards.’’
The comedian, who hosted the Oscars in 2005, on Friday Instagrammed a mysterious video of television static that he tagged ‘‘#blackout.’’
“See you Sunday,’’ Rock wrote.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Globe correspondent Isaac Feldberg contributed. David Filipov can be reached at David.Filipov@globe.com.
