Stacey Dash’s Surprise Appearance At The Oscars Was Incredibly Awkward

Stacey Dash, who recently made unsavory comments about Black History Month wrote an open letter about BET “lying to black people,” made a brief appearance at the 88th Academy Awards on Sunday night. Chris Rock introduced the Clueless actress, who then strode onstage and said she was there to “help her people.” After promptly wishing everybody in the room a happy Black History Month, she exited stage left. It was a short and awkward moment that left most of the audience speechless, including noted awards show cringer Chrissy Teigen.

Fortunately for people questioning what the purpose of the bit was, Dash herself had a blog post set and ready to go right after the appearance that explained the reasoning and the joke more fully. First, why she spoke out against the Oscars boycott some of her colleagues were participating in.

For example, I spoke out against Black History Month. (Why should there be such a thing? Haven’t we had more than just one month’s worth of accomplishments?…We need to stop complaining about white people oppressing us, we shouldn’t boycott the Oscars, and we need to support Chris Rock the host.

Dash also explained why she showed up at the Oscars:

Which brings me to the joke. When they added ME to increase the diversity, I’m sure many black people rolled their eyes. I’m not “black enough,” they say. But guess what? I’ve heard that all my life. I would rather be a free thinking, black than a cookie cutter black who thinks – and votes – just like all my friends.

So that explains things then. It still brought the room to a standstill, but at least it was supposed to be more than just a wink about diversity and her current reputation in Hollywood.