Oscars Launch Formal Review of Will Smith After Chris Rock Slap

[Elias Pettersson]

"The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night's show," a spokesperson for the organization said.

 

 

 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched a formal review following Will Smith’s assault on Chris Rock at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony. The organization behind the annual film awards show initially said it condemned violence without mentioning Smith by name, but now it is making its displeasure over the incident more explicit.

 

“The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show,” a spokesperson for the organization said. “We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law.”

 

It appears that Smith may face some type of disciplinary action or sanction, though it’s unlikely he will be made to forfeit his prize. In its official standards of conduct, the Academy states it is “categorically opposed to any form of abuse.”

 

The Academy’s full Board of Governors will meet Wednesday night and is expected to discuss the incident, the Hollywood Reporter confirmed.

 

Smith, who was named best actor for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the father of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams, in “King Richard,” had his big night marred by his outburst. After Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s close cropped haircut, referencing “G.I. Jane,” Smith charged the stage and slapped Rock. He then screamed at Rock to “leave my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth.” Pinkett Smith has said her hair loss results from alopecia.

 

Smith was named best actor later in the evening. He used his time at the podium to apologize to the Academy and to his fellow nominees — though he did not mention Rock.

 

“Love will make you do crazy things,” he said, adding, “To do what we do, you got to be able to take abuse. You got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you got to be able to have people disrespecting you. And you got to smile, you got to pretend like that’s OK.”

 

On Monday, SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents actors like Smith and Rock, condemned the altercation.

 

“As the union representing presenters and other performers working on the Oscars, SAG-AFTRA is focused on ensuring our members always work in a safe environment,” the union said in a statement. “Violence or physical abuse in the workplace is never appropriate and the union condemns any such conduct. The incident involving Will Smith and Chris Rock at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable. We have been in contact with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC about this incident, and will work to ensure this behavior is appropriately addressed.”

 

The union said it does not comment on any pending disciplinary process involving its members.

[Elias Pettersson]

 

Will Smith’s slap heard around the world begs the question — what does it take to get kicked out of the Oscars?

 

When last night’s best actor winner assaulted presenter Chris Rock during the Academy Awards on Sunday, television history was made — as was the collective undoing of Hollywood decorum. But why wasn’t Smith ejected from the ceremony for the internationally televised incident?

 

Shock, for starters, numerous sources close to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences told Variety. It’s evident from social media accounts and wide reports from inside the telecast that many attendees were dumfounded by the act, unsure if it was a bit between the two famous men or an intentional attack.

 

Adjacent to Hollywood’s Dolby Theater in the Lowes Hotel, on site at the annual Governor’s Ball post-reception, Academy leadership convened to discuss protocol, one insider said. The Academy is a nonprofit organization ruled by bylaws, and sources say there appear to be no provisions addressing open-hand smacking across the face on the live show.

 

Escorting Smith out of the ceremony was discussed, the source said, though by the time any substantive scenarios were imagined, he had already been called up to the podium to accept an Oscar for his turn in “King Richard.” The show ended shortly thereafter, as a joyous atmosphere turned sour.

 

Another person close to the event pointed out that show producers did not want the optics of having security remove a beloved movie star from his seat, especially as Smith supporters highlighted the defense of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock’s joke about her bald head — a reference to Demi Moore’s “G.I. Jane” — invoked reference to Pinkett Smith’s open struggle with alopecia. The source indicated Rock’s joke was off the cuff, and not included in the script fed to him on teleprompters.

 

When Smith accepted his honor, he tearfully apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees, though he failed to mention Rock by name.

 

The Academy is expected to address the scandal as early as Monday evening, and it would not be surprising to see Smith’s membership in the prestigious body come under some form of review. Smith may also offer up another apology. It appears that Smith may face some kind of sanction, though there’s no indication his Oscar will be revoked (Roman Polanski and Harvey Weinstein still have their prizes, after all). Talk about a slap in the face.

[Ghostsof1915]

Wonder if they will go to the NHL for review? 

[Russ]

Dude got slapped.  He's fine.  It'll be swept under the rug and no one will care in a month from now.

 

Not saying I condone violence at all, but it was bad but not awful.  If he had used a fist it could have been much much worse.

Edited March 31, 2022 by Russ

[24K PureCool]

10 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Another person close to the event pointed out that show producers did not want the optics of having security remove a beloved movie star from his seat, especially as Smith supporters highlighted the defense of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock’s joke about her bald head — a reference to Demi Moore’s “G.I. Jane” — invoked reference to Pinkett Smith’s open struggle with alopecia. The source indicated Rock’s joke was off the cuff, and not included in the script fed to him on teleprompters.

 

Here is my crux with people saying Chris deserves to be slapped. Just because someone is open about something doesn't mean people know about it.

We have zero prove indicating Chris Rock knows about Jada's struggle with hair loss. Unless Chris knows about it before hand, no one can or should criticize him for that joke.

 

Also the Academy's producers lack of action to what is an obvious choice in this kind of instance failed everyone involved and now the Academy have to throw the book at Smith in order to salvage whatever they can from this situation.

[24K PureCool]

2 minutes ago, Russ said:

Dude got slapped.  He's fine.  It'll be swept under the rug and no one will care in a month from now.

Well I for one is gonna boycott all of his movie till he does something more substantive than a written apology on IG that is likely written by his publicist. 

That just doesn't feel sincere. We should be hearing it from his own mouth.

[Nuxfanabroad]

The garbage Hollyweird has been calling movies(past 2 decades) is a slap on the face of humanity. Likely desperate charades to resuscitate life into a corpse.

 

Don't giva'hoot! Ya'z jumped the shark wayy back.

[Elias Pettersson]

 

Jim Carrey disagrees with how Will Smith's outburst at the Oscars was immediately handled in the room Sunday night.

 

During the ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre, Will walked onstage and struck comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Back at his seat, Will shouted to Rock, "Keep my wife's name out of your f-----g mouth!" then remained seated at his table. Later in the show, he was announced as the Best Actor winner, and returned onstage amid a standing ovation to deliver a tear-filled speech.

 

While speaking with CBS Mornings' Gayle King about his new movie Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Carrey, 60, gave his thoughts on what unfolded, saying he felt Hollywood is "spineless" for applauding Will after what had transpired.

 

"I was sickened. I was sickened by the standing ovation. I felt like Hollywood is just spineless, en masse. It really felt like, 'Oh, this is a really clear indication that we're not the cool club anymore," said Carrey when asked.

 

As for Rock not choosing to file assault charges, Carrey said he "would've announced this morning that I was suing Will for $200 million, 'cause that video is gonna be there forever. It's gonna be ubiquitous. That insult is gonna last for a very long time."

 

"If you wanna yell from the audience and disapprove or show disapproval or say something on Twitter or whatever — you do not have the right to walk up onstage and smack somebody in the face because they said words," he said.

 

A source previously told PEOPLE that "having Will removed was definitely discussed seriously."

 

"You can't plan for something like this and make a split-second decision that needs everyone's buy-in, and in any iteration that would have consequences," the source said.

Carrey speculated that the "selfish" outburst "came out of nowhere because Will has something going on inside him that's frustrated, and I wish him the best, I really do. I don't have anything against Will Smith. He's done great things. But that was not a good moment."

 

Will publicly apologized in a statement on Monday, admitting that he was "out of line" and "wrong." He called himself a "work in progress."

[BMorrison 7]

What an absolute disgrace.  Will smith should have been kicked out of the oscars.  What kind of message does that send to the world “it’s ok to hit people when someone hurts your feelings”.  Lost all respect for Will.  “Kindergarten behaviour, blame it on the devil Will

[PetterssonOrPeterson]

4 minutes ago, MNaslund?? said:

What an absolute disgrace.  Will smith should have been kicked out of the oscars.  What kind of message does that send to the world “it’s ok to hit people when someone hurts your feelings”.  Lost all respect for Will.  “Kindergarten behaviour, blame it on the devil Will

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it" - Warren Buffett

 

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by PetterssonOrPeterson

[CBH1926]

When it comes to comedy it’s either everything is on the table or nothing.

Smith should be charged with simple assault.

 

Kudos to Chris for handling the situation.
As soon as your hand ends up on my face, my fist is certainly going to land on your face.

[eeeeergh]

After a thorough investigation, NHL fines Vancouver Canucks 3 million dollars, to be applied against next year's cap for Smith's slap. 
No other penalties were assessed against teams or individuals. 

[Junkyard Dog]

Will Smith ain't okay with his wife's name being used as the butt end of jokes from dudes but is okay with letting dudes using her butt end in other ways shapes and forms. 

[Toni Zamboni]

i wonder how it would have been handled if it was say for example Jon Stewart that got slapped or it was a female?
 

[kanucks25]

The best part about this whole thing is that Will, being a jokester himself, looked like he initially found it funny and then only showed anger after his wife gave him a glare.

 

It was like something straight out of a sitcom.

[nuckin_futz]

If instead of Chris Rock the joke had been told by The Rock, Will Smith doesn't get out of his seat.

[BlastPast]

Staged.

[thrago]

Will should lose his Oscar and be kicked out of the Academy at minimum, but of course that wont happen.  I always like Will Smith, but it's clear he is nothing more then a Bully.

[4petesake]

Will doesn’t think it’s right to make jokes about people with alopecia?

 

 

 

[Vinny in Vancouver]

Maybe if a different Rock hosted the Oscars, there would have been no violence?