LOS ANGELES - Academy Awards host Chris Rock hardly shied away from the topic of diversity in his opening monologue, diving right in by calling the Oscars the "white people's choice awards" and noting the number of black faces shown in the opening montage of film clips.

The second-time Oscar host said in his monologue that if hosts were nominated like people in the acting categories, people would be watching Neil Patrick Harris instead.

He talked about the pressure put on him not to host the awards following the diversity controversy. He said he wasn't going to quit because "the last thing I need is to lose another job to Kevin Hart."

But Rock hardly gave Hollywood a pass. He said Hollywood's racism is like sorority racism, where a girl is deemed "not Kappa material." And he said black actors should get the same opportunities as white actors - like Leonardo DiCaprio gets a great part every year.