In his opening monologue at the Academy Awards on Sunday night, Chris Rock gave a charged speech about diversity and racism in Hollywood. In it, he introduced a memorable line about Hollywood's particular strain of intolerance:
"Is [Hollywood] burning cross racist?" Rock said. "It's a different type of racist… Hollywood is sorority racist. It's like, 'We like you Rhonda, but you're not a Kappa.'"
Research has shown that sororities and other Greek organizations are, in fact, plagued by racial tension. One study found that fraternities and sororities "compound class-based and racial segregation within campuses" by excluding non-white students from traditionally white groups. Another found that white students made up 77 percent of sorority members at Princeton in 2013 , while making up only 47 percent of the student body. (Diversity issues aren't limited to Ivy League schools—Fusion's Collier Meyerson reported last year about one ugly instance of racial hostility at a University of Alabama sorority.)
But Rock's comments appear to have offended some sorority members, who weren't happy to be singled out for racism:
This Kappa said that her chapter was "extremely diverse":
This sorority member appreciated Rock's joke, though her sisters may not have.
This woman pointed out that Rock's stereotyping of sorority girls mirrored historical racism in Hollywood (lol).
Doesn't Chris Rock know that the REAL victims of racism are white sorority pledges?
I mean, come on, Chris Rock.
THINK OF THE KAPPAS, CHRIS.
It's not known whether the offended sororities of America plan to unite and create another "Defying Sterotypes" series in response to Rock's remarks, but here's hoping.