'People have checked out': Rob Schneider mocks the Oscars, says 'ideology of idiocy' turns people off

Actor and comedian Rob Schneider said that the Academy Awards have largely turned people off by pushing woke ideologies and implementing mandates based on sexual identities.

Schneider spoke to fellow comedian and podcaster Adam Carolla on "The Adam Carolla Podcast," and the conversation eventually veered to the Oscars, as Schneider referenced longtime friend Adam Sandler's recent film.

"If he’s not nominated for [‘Spaceman’], they don’t even count. Not that they count anyway," Schneider said of the award show, according to Hollywood in Toto.

"It used to be 100 million people [watching the Oscars]," he continued. "Now that the Academy Awards are saying, ‘You have to have 40% in LGBTQ+’ … people have checked out because they realize this isn’t the best any more. It’s just how far they can suck up to this particular ideology of idiocy. It turns people off. It turns me off. I haven’t watched in years," Schneider went on.

The Oscars have significantly fallen off over the years in terms of viewership; however, 2023's show had an audience of 18.7 million, the academy's largest since 2020. It was also the most-watched award show on any network in three years, Entertainment Weekly reported.

Still, the numbers are a far cry from the 1973 record-setting show that was watched by 85 million viewers.

"I think the chickens are coming home to roost," Carolla added. "When you start introducing question marks into people’s heads, that’s when the franchise is over."

"When the Academy Awards go, ‘We’re gonna have 40% of this group represented, and we need X amount of handicapped and X amount of gay and lesbians represented … then we as watchers, go, ‘Is that really, then, the best film?'" Carolla pontificated

Carolla added that the reason he believes many people are "secretly and unknowingly attracted to sports" is because it offers a meritocracy.

"When the Seattle [Seahawks] defense goes out there, and there’s 10 black guys and one white guy on the defensive side of the ball, we don’t start breaking it up into race. We just go, ‘I guess those are the 11 best guys on the team.’ Which you definitely do not do with politics or certainly all the awards shows now."

Schneider, who recently expressed that he had become Catholic, has given advice for people struggling find sense in the ever-indoctrinating, woke landscape of the world.

"Be aware that you are part of all of it and that the separateness you sometimes feel is an illusion. ... How can I continue to hold a grudge against the actor who shamed people like me? ... It is forgiveness itself that is the gift that we give ourselves because it frees us," he added, citing his belief in Jesus.

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