Entertainment

Is Chris Rock Really Selling Girl Scout Cookies?

by Kadeen Griffiths

Move over, Ellen DeGeneres, you may have just lost your crown. We all remember where we were when DeGeneres ordered pizza at the Oscars, but Chris Rock just did her one better this year. Instead of ordering pizza, Chris Rock sold Girl Scout Cookies at the 2016 Oscars, because... why not? But, as we all watched Rock send Girl Scouts out into the audience, peddling boxes of Trefoils and Samoas, I know I can't be the only person out there wondering if Rock is really selling Girl Scout Cookies at the Oscars. Surely this must just be a funny sketch? Yeah, no. I'm proud and amused to announce that the Girl Scout Cookie sale is actually real, and there are a number of ways that the audience can tell, even if they aren't actually present at the ceremony.

In the first place, Rock's daughter genuinely is a Girl Scout, and this isn't the first time that he's bragged about her. In May 2014, Rock tweeted a picture of his daughter with her Girl Scout troupe, supporting the movement to #BringBackOurGirls. His pride for her as a father was so clear in that single tweet that it would come as no surprise that he would use a huge opportunity like the Oscars to support her even further.

Then, there's the fact that the celebrities in the audience are tweeting about the Girl Scout Cookies that they've purchased. Mindy Kaling, for example, proudly showed off her Samoas — though she also thanked Olivia Wilde. Perhaps because Wilde purchased the box of cookies for her?

Because, as Jarett Wieselman of BuzzFeed points out, what celebrity is carrying cash on them to an event like the Oscars? There was no way they'd know they'd need anything more than an emergency MasterCard for tonight. So, sadly, I highly doubt that Rock's daughter made as many sales as she might have hoped, unless she was carrying a card reader with her along with those boxes.

If there's one thing for sure about Sunday night, it's that, no matter how you feel about the Oscars or Rock's hosting, this was, quite possibly, the greatest Girl Scout Cookie hustle in history. Doesn't it just make you want to buy a box for yourself?

Update: I stand correct. In the end, Chris Rock revealed that he had raised $65,243 in Girl Scout Cookie money from everyone present that night, joking that Suge Knight — or rather the actor portraying Suge Knight — bought the most of them. Everywhere else in America, every other Girl Scout troupe is insanely jealous of Rock's daughter right now. Meanwhile, I'm insanely jealous that I don't have $65,243 worth of Girl Scout Cookies in my room right now.