The Oscars are all the buzz — but not for the reason one would expect

The Oscars are all the buzz — but not for the reason one would expect

　　Transcript¹

　　Will Smith stormed on stage and slapped presenter² Chris Rock after he'd made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair. Smith later went on to win his first Oscar but he had overshadowed his own victory.

　　A MARTINEZ, HOST:

　　This morning, the Oscars are all the buzz, but not for the reasons one might expect. Actor Will Smith walked on stage and slapped presenter Chris Rock after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair. Smith later went on to win his very first Oscar, but he very clearly overshadowed his very own victory. I'm here with Aisha Harris, co-host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, who watched all of it play out. So let's start off by playing a clip of this moment. That's where Chris Rock was on stage, cracking jokes. Let's take a listen.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　CHRIS ROCK: Jada, I love you. "G.I. Jane 2" - can't wait to see it, all right?

　　(LAUGHTER)

　　ROCK: It's - that was a nice one. OK. I'm out here - uh-oh. Richard (laughter).

　　(SOUNDBITE OF SLAPPING)

　　ROCK: Oh, wow. Wow.

　　MARTINEZ: All right, Aisha. So walk us through what happened there.

　　AISHA HARRIS, BYLINE³: So basically, Chris Rock makes a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith being in "G.I. Jane 2" because she has - her head is shaved and she - he seemed to be making a joke about her being bald. It's not clear if Chris Rock was aware that she has alopecia, which causes hair loss, but she's been very public about it in the past. And Will Smith obviously took offense⁴ to it, walked up on stage, clocked Chris Rock, and then walked back to his seat and yelled twice for Chris Rock to keep my wife's name out of your mouth. And he used some expletives there.

　　MARTINEZ: Yeah. So as you mentioned, he went back to his seat, yelled what he yelled. But then as the night went on, he won for best actor - his first ever Academy Award.

　　HARRIS: Right. Exactly. And the speech was not the apology that I think a lot of people hoped for or expected. He basically compared himself to Richard Williams, which is the character he won for - playing Venus and Serena Williams's father - and mentioned how art imitates life and how people often called Richard Williams crazy and weird⁵ and that he was just defending his loved ones. He also invoked⁶ God and the devil. And he didn't actually apologize to Chris Rock. He apologized to the members of the academy, and he apologized to his fellow nominees⁷, but there was no apology to the person who deserved it the most.

　　MARTINEZ: Now, it doesn't seem like it, but there were other really big moments at the actual awards. Tell us about those.

　　HARRIS: Yeah. So, I mean, it was interesting to see "CODA" win all the awards it was nominated for, including the biggest one - best picture. With that win, Apple became the first streaming service to take home the big prize on Oscar night. Also from "CODA," Troy Kotsur, who plays the father in that movie - he won the best supporting actor award. And he is now the first deaf man to get an Oscar for acting⁸.

　　MARTINEZ: And speaking of making history, Ariana DeBose won for best supporting actress.

　　HARRIS: Yeah, it was great to see her win because it was a very historic moment. She's the first openly queer woman of color to win an Oscar for acting. And it's also worth noting that this is a sort of rare win where a pair has won Oscars for playing the same person. So Rita Moreno won the award 60 years ago for playing Anita, and she was also in the room that night to cheer Ariana on. So it was really nice to see that happen.

　　MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Aisha Harris. She's co-host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. Thanks a lot, Aisha.

　　HARRIS: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

5 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

6 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。