Highlights from the 88th Academy Awards

The 88th Academy Awards aired on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 28. Here are some highlights from the show.

Diversity talks

In the show’s opening monologue, host Chris Rock addressed the #OscarsSoWhite diversity issue that had been a hot topic prior to the awards. The monologue was laced with humor. Rock joked if he boycotted hosting the Oscars he would “lose another job to Kevin Hart.”

The president of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, Cheryl Boone, took the stage later in the show to acknowledge the criticism of The Academy for the lack of diversity in this year’s nominations. She said the entire industry needs to be more inclusive, and it is not enough for only the Academy to change their practices.

Girl Scout Cookies

Mid-way through the show, Rock told the audience his daughter needed some help selling her Girl Scout cookies and she always finished second. Rock asked the audience to “reach into their millionaire pockets” and buy cookies. Rock brought out several Los Angeles Girl Scouts who went through the theatre selling boxes to audience members. Rock posted on Twitter that Vice President Joe Biden bought $20 in cookies. Later in the show, it was revealed that the Girl Scouts raised more than $65,000.

Til It Happens to You

Biden made an appearance at the awards to introduce Lady Gaga’s performance of the song nomination “Til it Happens to You,” which was nominated for Best Original Song.

The song appeared in the movie "The Hunting Ground," which deals with sexual assault on college campuses. Several sexual assault survivors took the stage with Gaga displaying phrases on their arms, like “survivor.”

When Biden introduced the performance, he stressed the importance of the It’s On Us campaign and urged Americans to step up and change the culture of victim blaming when it comes to sexual assault.

In Memoriam

This year’s in memoriam tribute was performed by Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters. Grohl played an acoustic guitar and sang The Beatles' "Blackbird." The song was accompanied by a video montage that displayed all those in the motion picture industry who have died within the past year. 136 people were memorialized, including David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Lizabeth Scott, Christopher Lee, Maureen O’Hara and Gene Allen. After the tribute, Entertainment Weekly reported that the montage left off Abe Vigoda, who died on Jan. 26. The Academy had not responded to their request for a comment.

Leo’s win

Leonardo DiCaprio was awarded the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in "The Revenant." DiCaprio has been vying for an Oscar since his first nomination in 1994 for his role as supporting actor in "What’s Eating Gilbert Grape."

In interviews leading up to the ceremony, DiCaprio noted the Revenant has been among his most demanding and difficult roles to date. 

“Whether it’s going in and out of frozen rivers or sleeping in animal carcasses or what I ate on set. [I was] enduring freezing cold and possible hypothermia constantly," he told Yahoo! Movies. 

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