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Outrage Watch, Oscars Edition: Everyone’s mad at Patricia Arquette now

by: Uproxx authors

Welcome to a special Oscars edition of Outrage Watch, where we break down all the things folks are peeved about from last night's big show. Top story? Let the Patricia Arquette backlash begin.

Did you catch the Best Supporting Actress winner's acceptance speech? Meryl Streep loved it! American was on her side, mostly. And then…she went backstage.

“The truth is, even though we sort of feel like we have equal rights in America, right under the surface, there are huge issues that are applied that really do affect women,” said the Best Supporting Actress winner to the assembled press corps. “And it”s time for all the women in America and all the men that love women, and all the gay people, and all the people of color that we”ve all fought for to fight for us now.”

Hmm…maybe she just got caught up in the moment? Give her a pass, just this once, maybe? Possibly? No?

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Many bloggers and pundits also were less than thrilled with Arquette's comments:

“What Arquette said backstage, and the way many people took her comments, is that people of color and gay people need to drop their causes and struggles and turn their focus to the problem of wage disparity, to the problems that affect her, as a white woman,” writes Kelsey McKinney on Vox. “This undertone, that white women's issues are the important ones, has been the source of tension and anger among feminists and their allies for decades.”

Added The Grio writer Blue Telusma: “Let me be blunt: If you say black people need to stand up for you – that means you are asking every person in the room who is both black and a woman to choose her gender over her race in order to suit your agenda. It”s a very subtle form of feminist segregation that I”ve heard about for a few years now. And it”s complete b.s.”

Many conservatives, meanwhile, didn't need to hear Arquette's backstage comments to be outraged. Apparently, any mention of the statistically-proven gender pay gap is enough to raise hackles on the right.

“I was appalled. I could not believe it,” said “Clueless” star and great political mind Stacey Dash of Arquette's acceptance speech on this morning's “Fox & Friends.” “First of all, Patricia Arquette needs to do her history. In 1963, Kennedy passed the Equal Pay [Act]. It's still in effect. I didn't get the memo that I didn't have any rights.” Bottom line: ignore the statistics!

And who could ignore the comments from radio host Rush Limbaugh, who will now tragically be boycotting Arquette's new TV series “CSI: Cyber” because she just had to start in with her “not quite Hillary screeching” about so-called gender inequality:

“I liked the show, 'CSI: Cyber.'  It debuts March 4th.  And then I saw this thing last night and said, 'Aw, darn it, why did she have to do this?'” lamented the conservative radio host.. “Now I don't know that I want to watch 'CSI: Cyber.'  And I was looking forward to watching 'CSI: Cyber.'  Well, she went up there and she started just shouting about women's rights.  She just started shouting about equal rights and made it look like women are the most discriminated against.”

Strangely, Limbaugh reserved much of his outrage for Meryl Streep, who he claims “hijacked” Arquette's moment with her wild gesticulating in the front row. These women with their opinions!

Want more? There's plenty of indignation to go around. See below for a full roundup of Oscar kerfuffles.

Outraged: Conservatives
Target: The Oscars, Jason Bateman
Why: Because Hollywood is full of godless liberals, “American Sniper” was completely snubbed in the major categories at last night's show — and real patriots, including Fox News host Sean Hannity — weren't particularly happy about this:

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Perhaps the night's biggest traitor? Jason Bateman for…not clapping when “American Sniper” won the award for Best Sound Editing.

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Look how devastated he is about this, Pat.

Outraged: People who thought Neil Patrick Harris sucked last night
Target: Neil Patrick Harris
Why: “This next presenter is so lovely, you could eat her up with-her-spoon,” he joked of Reese Witherspoon. (With-her-spoon, get it?!) And on Channing Tatum: “He”s the real deal, pants down. I mean hands down.” Because he played a stripped in “Magic Mike”!

And then there was the whole Octavia Spencer “keep your eye on the box” bit…

Which we're now finding out is kinda racist:

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Thank you, good Samaritans, for bringing down that horrible bigot Neil Patrick Harris.

Outraged: Twitter
Target: Sean Penn
Why: Just before announcing “Birdman” as the winner for Best Picture, Penn said of the film's director and producer Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu: “Who gave this son of a bitch his green card?”, in reference to the filmmaker's Mexican heritage. Though the director himself subsequently laughed the comment off as a joke between friends — he directed Penn in the 2003 drama “21 Grams” — the Twitter peanut gallery was unamused:

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Outraged: Donald Trump
Target: The Oscars, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “Birdman”
Why: Continuing his decades-long run of sensitive and insightful comments, Trump opined that the show “was a great night for Mexico, as usual – this country, you know, the whole thing is ridiculous. …This guy ['Birdman' director Inarritu] kept getting up and up and up. What”s he doing? He”s walking away with all the gold? Was it that good? I don”t hear that.” So, in a nutshell:

[Mediaite]

Outraged: Joan Rivers fans
Target: The Academy
Why: After the comedy legend was left out of last night's “In Memoriam” reel despite having made significant contributions to the film industry — including the Oscars themselves — the response from fans and media commentators was swift and unforgiving. “Joan Rivers, who died in September, should have been on there,” wrote Slate's Dan Kois. “She directed one terrible movie (1978″s 'Rabbit Test'); she played the incomparable Dot Matrix in 'Spaceballs'; she was the subject of one of the best documentaries of the last five years. But most importantly, she was one of the reasons that many of us even CARE about the Oscars-because we watched what happened after she disemboweled hapless celebrities on the red carpet.”

The Academy subsequently responded to the outrage, but our own Kristopher Tapley wasn't having their excuses:  “It was just a little odd that someone who was so synonymous with Oscar night would be cast aside like that. Particularly a female trail-blazer, at a time when the Academy is under fire for being a boys' club.”

Outraged: Twitter
Target: Cleveland Fox 8 news anchor Kristi Capel
Why: “It”s hard to really hear her voice with all the jigaboo music – whatever you want to call it – jigaboo!” said Capel of Lady Gaga's showstopping “Sound of Music” tribute at last night's ceremony. Oops, Kristi!

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For what it's worth: Capel has apologized for this. Live and learn!

[Raw Story]

Still haven't had your fill? Get a week's worth of outrage below:

Thurs, Feb. 19: The trolls have finally gotten to Iggy Azalea

Weds., Feb. 18: Beyonce's unretouched photos instigate a Beygency

Tues., Feb. 17: Selena Gomez's topless photo shoot is creeping us out

Mon., Feb. 16: Eddie Murphy's 'SNL' return was an 'epic fail'