Los Angeles - Ricky Gervais has urged Chris Rock to do some "serious damage" when he hosts the 88th Academy Awards.
Chris, 50, is reportedly under pressure to boycott the Oscars after the Academy was slammed for a lack of diversity in the nomination list for next month's ceremony but the Golden Globes host has urged the Grown Ups star to use the live platform to his advantage.
Ricky said on Twitter:
If I were @chrisrock, I wouldn't be considering boycotting The Oscars. I'd be thinking "this shit is live. I can do some serious damage."
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) January 19, 2016
His tweet comes after it was revealed Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith have declined their invites to attend the ceremony.
Of Chris' hosting duties, a source previously revealed: "Behind the scenes Chris is under extreme pressure to pull out. Many people think he would help progress be made if he quits his hosting job.
"However, Chris is listening to what they have to say, but thinks he will have a bigger impact by doing the show. He thinks it is easier to make a difference from the inside."