You know what I wonder? If Will Smith had simply apologized and not preemptively resigned from the Academy, I wonder if his punishment would have been a lot lighter. It just seemed like the Academy felt like they had to issue some big punishment, and Will probably should have left the Academy membership on the table, you know? The Academy higher-ups moved up their meeting to determine Will’s punishment, and the meeting took place Friday morning in LA, although the mess was conducted over video-conference. Every step the Academy took ahead of the meeting telegraphed the fact that they would grossly overreact to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. And that’s exactly what they did. They decided that Will is banned from the Oscars and all Academy events for the next ten years. These a–holes are telling on themselves.
Twelve days after Will Smith slapped and screamed profanities at Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has ruled that Smith — who was presented with the best actor Oscar later that same evening — has been banned from returning to the Oscars or attending any other Academy events for the next 10 years. Smith will retain the Oscar that he won and remains eligible for future Oscar nominations and wins.
The Academy’s 54-person board of governors held a special meeting on Friday morning to determine what action to take against Smith. Until one week ago, when Smith announced that he was resigning as a member of the organization, he was expected to face suspension or expulsion, having violated the standards of conduct that the Academy implemented after the outbreak of the #MeToo movement.
Many members of the industry have expressed outrage over Smith’s behavior, which he himself called “shocking, painful and inexcusable.” Some even called for him to lose the Oscar statuette that he was awarded and/or his eligibility for future Oscars. But the Academy appears to have doubled down on its long-held position that there is a line between onscreen work and offscreen conduct. (Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polanski have been expelled from the organization, but each still has the Oscar statuette awarded to them prior to that.)
In a letter to members sent after Friday morning’s meeting, Hudson and Rubin acknowledged that they “did not adequately address the situation in the room” and apologized that they “fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.” They also expressed “deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances” and thanked the evening’s “hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast.”
Shortly afterward, Smith, through a spokesperson, issued a brief statement of his own: “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”
[From THR]
You can read the open letter to Academy members at THR. As I said, a total overreaction. Even just the trade-paper comparison between Will’s actions to Roman Polanski and Harvey Weinstein. Polanski raped a child. Weinstein raped and sexually abused dozens, if not hundreds, of women. Will Smith slapped a man. A man who had been talking sh-t about Will’s wife for decades. And what kills me is that the Slap made the Oscars into a huge event and one of the biggest cultural moments of the year, and the incident will be referenced in every awards show (including the Oscars) from now on. They’ll find ways to profit from it, monetize it and laugh about it, all while keeping Will marginalized and banned. The Academy looks so out of touch here. At least they didn’t “take” his Oscar, I guess. You know they wanted to.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.
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Vanity Fair Oscar Dinner held at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California
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Tyler Perry, and Oscar® nominees Will Smith and Denzel Washington during the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.,Image: 673515395, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Avalon Licensing Ltd. do not claim any Copyright of the attached image WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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Oscar® nominee Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith during the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.,Image: 673515422, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Avalon Licensing Ltd. do not claim any Copyright of the attached image WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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Oscar® nominee Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith arrive on the red carpet of the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at the Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.,Image: 673567160, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Avalon Licensing Ltd. do not claim any Copyright of the attached image WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones celebrating the 94th annual Academy Awards at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California,Image: 673579090, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Credit line: – / JPI Studios / Avalon
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Will Smith attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones celebrating the 94th annual Academy Awards at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California,Image: 673579164, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Will Smith, Credit line: – / JPI Studios / Avalon
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Will Smith attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones celebrating the 94th annual Academy Awards at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California,Image: 673579181, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Will Smith, Credit line: – / JPI Studios / Avalon
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Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones celebrating the 94th annual Academy Awards at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California,Image: 673579196, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Credit line: – / JPI Studios / Avalon
This is insane and racist. I hope Oscars are boycotted by major celebrities from now on
That’s what I was wondering. How many others will now boycott. The Oscars have already been declining in regular people’s interest.
Not only racist but sexist. The Academy can turn a blind eye to women getting raped and assaulted, but GOD FORBID A MAN IS SLAPPED.
It’s not racist or sexist. Does no one else get it. He did it on live television. He didn’t do it behind the scenes. Or in a hotel room. Everyone around the world saw it. They couldn’t hide it in any way. That’s the difference. The only difference. Weinstein (who I’m sure did it) its on the womens word. No one has pictures. No one can absolutely prove it happened. Cosby or Louis C K. They all happened behind the scenes. Yes what they did was worse. But its still he said she said. No one said Will slapped Chris. They saw it. And humans are visual creatures. We react stronger to things we see than to things we hear about.
@Robert Phillips We all saw Adrien Brody forcibly grab Halle Berry and stick his tongue down her throat, too. The Academy’s decision is racist and sexist, period.
They couldn’t deny it happened is true. However…..
The AMFAS is now more diverse but people are still concerned about the appearance of violence on tv by a black man. The fact that it was in defense of a woman is moot.
That is the problem. Violence against women is shown all day every day on the news, in movies, and on television shows.
It is more normal and acceptable than showing love.
Words are so damaging but we minimize that. Words are usually the first abuse, the precursor to hitting but we also ignore that.
I am conflicted about what happened at the last Oscars telecast… I don’t think the ruling hurts Will Smith. I think Jada still has voting rights. I think Will was never going to win another Oscar. I think Blacks voting power at the Oscars doesn’t change much.
@DeniseMich, did Jada ever have voting rights? Is she a member of the Academy? Most actors aren’t. To be a member, someone has to be nominated, which she never was, or recommended and sponsored by multiple members. Her husband may have recommended her and convinced others to sponsor her but I have never heard that she was.
THIS☝🏻☝🏻 Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, and Woody Allen are A-ok. How about Anti-Semite, misogynist Mel Gibson? All of that is just fine but a black man standing up for and defending his wife is a bridge too far!
I think people imagine the Academy has a lot more power than it does. It’s a membership organization, not the film police force. They can expel members for conduct, like they did with Weinstein, Polanski and Cosby, and a bunch of others who were selling screeners or Oscar tickets, but that’s pretty much the extent of their official powers.
@RobertPhillips I 100% agree with you. It boggles my mind that people don’t understand that the assault was captured on TV where millions of people witnessed it. The assault can’t be denied. Nobody is comparing a slap with rape.
And to respond to other comments, it doesn’t matter if he was defending his wife or not. There is NO EXCUSE to physically assault anyone especially for a bad joke. Will could have defended his wife with words instead of a physical assault. He CHOSE not too.
@Carol, why so angry? I’m glad I’m not standing anywhere near you.
I’m an absolute nobody but I’ll be boycotting them. I already boycott theaters and only watch on streaming which is a much more democratic platform for high quality content and diverse stories than the Marvel-topia now known as mainstream Hollywood.
How Will Smith is the only one being punished here is beyond me. Chris Rock gets a full pass after going off a script and making a deeply misogynistic and personal jibe beggars belief. Yes, Will Smith deserved to be censured, but ten years is over the top. But Chris Rock’s public mean girling at an event to celebrate achievements and lift each other up also deserves a penalty.
“Snowflake loser” < – I believe that’s a direct quote from faux news.
The Oscars make use of comedians because they are fast on their feet and can ad lib to fill dead space which happens quite a bit when you are televising an event. You have people in your ear telling you to fill in the time so you spot someone in the audience and make a joke. Then someone gets up and slaps you in the face for basically doing your job. Comedians make fun of people. It is what they do. Will could easily have addressed in when he won his award. Sorry, but he should be banned.
I doubt Rock’s apology will ever happen. Yes, Smith was wrong in how he handled it, but the punishment is ridiculous.
The Oscars really are at fault here in my opinion. They have cultivated a culture and entertainment that relies solely on making fun of/roasting/targeting people for laughs during the broadcasts. It’s been this way for years. Though some hosts don’t go below the belt and are decent you’ve got many that are crass and ridiculous (Amy)
Should Will have slapped Chris- no. Did it warrant some consequence like not attending next years/presenting ect yes. This reaction though is over the top. 10 years?! The crime doesn’t fit the punishment, considering his fellow colleagues who have done some heinous crimes, got a lesser punishment.
Those who are justifying the punishment because people saw it on tv compared to others who’s crimes they are saying are he-said/she said are absolutely discounting victims voices as less than because they couldn’t see a trauma/crime. That’s gross. Your basically saying that you need ‘proof’ of CK, Allen (ect) to believe his victims and support a punishment. These types of people are part of the problem.
@jellykat I couldn’t even bring myself to respond to the comments that were like “well those guys didn’t commit rape during a live broadcast …”. Thank you for addressing that so eloquently!!
Well said, @Jellykat.
As long as he is banned, Oscars should be. Team Free Will.
This is ridiculous.
Why is it ridiculous though? The man committed an assault on stage in front of millions of people and completely ruined the moment for all of the winners of the night, and then he had the AuDaCiTy to say that he was a “vessel for love”!?!? Tha fuuuuck!?
I have a very bad case of alopecia AND for what it’s worth I am a woman of color (I think loosing your hair as a woman must suck no matter your race) and what Chris rock said does not offend me in any way, it was a joke, an outdated and unfunny one, but offensive? Stooop! And I know that the joke may have upset her, and she has a right to her emotions, but does that mean that her husband gets to hit people?!? If my husband did that I’d be mortified!!
People need to understand that Alopecia is not stage 4 cancer!
And people who show up to the oscars thinking they are above being joked about should just stay home.
The hypocrisy of the Academy is laughable …………
Agreed. I have been so angry about this. They place white men like Weinstein and Allen on pedestal’s but Will slapped Chris, who still has NOT apologized, up to an inexcusable double standard, and is stripped from attending for 10 years. No outrage at Chris Rock? No apology either?
Though, they awarded Louis CK an Oscar which is apparently to be well received.
Louis CK doesn’t have an Oscar. He was just awarded a Grammy (sadly). I keep seeing people say he won an Oscar, so the misinformation is spreading.
Weinstein is banned.
Why should Chris apologize? He told a joke. That is what he does. All comedians tell jokes at the expense of other people. That is what they do. You don’t deserve to be hit because you told a joke about someone. People have had a lot worse jokes told and people laughed and moved on. Assault and battery is a crime; telling jokes even bad ones is not.
@indyworm. Words can be more harmful. I’m sick and tired of comedians getting a pass for “just telling a joke.” Comedians today need to stop punching down and telling hateful, mean spirited jokes attacking people. No one has to sit there and laugh after being made fun of and ridiculed and take it cause it “was just a joke.” Lose me with that bullshit.
@indywom — it is not OK to humiliate a woman in front of millions of people because she’s suffering from a disease that has caused her hair to fall out. Will reacted badly, he should have taken it up with Chris in private, but embarrassing someone for the sake of a cheap laugh is WRONG.
Will Smith won’t be marginalized; that really diminishes people who actually are. He’s worth 350 million and will be relevant in Hollywood for the rest of his life, continuing to earn money not in line with his actual talent. Noone in that family has been or will be disempowered and disadvantaged because of this. If anything they will profit through this.
Will Smith us a talented actor and performer who has earned every accolade. I’ve been a huge fan of him as an actor (after already of course being a fan of his music) since Six Degrees of Separation. He’s brilliant in that. And he absolutely made Independence Day the fabulous film it is. And younger generations might not realize but in the mid-90s releasing a Blockbuster where the two main characters were Black and Jewish was just unheard of. He deserves so much recognition for his career. Screw the Academy!
This is not the punishment they think it is. He doesn’t have to endure their pretentious, exhausting, overwrought telecast for a decade and probably not after that because I doubt he will return.
Also, he broke up with them first.
I believe this, too. His career has reached a point where he doesn’t need them. What I think will be interesting to see is when he produces another Oscar-worthy film or performance and he’s feted in absentia. He’ll be fine.
Hmmm so if you are white man that rapes women and underage women or a beloved Cosby, that’s okay by their membership standards….racist as hell. None of them were banned, they are trying to save ass that’s all.
Agreed, it’s a severe overreaction but his career will weather it. I’m surprised (and disappointed) more A-listers haven’t publicly come out saying they will boycott.
I wish Will and Jada didn’t care so much about being mainstream-liked that they would just full lean into it and have an A-list alternative viewing party, invite nominees, media, just be big and bold about it. The “Black-listed” party- imagine!
This is what fans simply don’t get. It’s not about needing them.
99% of actors actually care about the Oscars greatly.
They want them, it’s what they got into business with dreams of getting, repeatedly if they could. They care. The Oscars matter more than anything to them. And people like Seth Rogan or Ricky Gervais or whoever acting like they on’t is bull, both those guys would be the first to arrive on the red carpet if they got a nomination.
They care otherwise there wouldn’t be fits over who got invited or who was left out of the memorial segment. Or there wouldn’t be people scrambling to get a coveted membership. People care so much even just getting into the parties after the awards is a big deal.
Will absolutely needs them because Will wants as many Oscar statues as he can lay his hands on. Everyone does. That’s why Will voluntarily resigned, as a mea culpa to them in hopes he could keep his eligibility and he did.
Yeah, he did the right thing for himself and his reputation by issuing a statement accepting responsibility and resigning. Gave the Academy a gift too – they could have issued their own statement appreciating that he did so unequivocally, while coming up with a more proportional consequence for someone whose professional reputation is otherwise good. Problem is, the slap was on live tv – so the Academy couldn’t pretend they knew nothing like they have with the multiple predators in their ranks. Plus, they’re embarrassed at the crap way they handled the situation. So here we are. Reasonable people will hopefully see this “punishment” for what it is and the decision will boomerang back on the Academy in one form or another.
I love this perspective! The Academy is all “no we’re breaking up with you!” LMFAO!
I just want black hollywood to mobilise ,speak up and DO something about this over reaction. Denzel and Samuel can lead the way, actually use their power. Boycott the damn thing if needs be. But i am guessing there is more to being a member of the Academy than just voting and attending . Atleast Will Smith has his own production co. and he is a blockbuster type of actor his bread and butter are not ‘oscar movies’ .
Are you kidding? Black people are getting more opportunities in Hollywood and they should jeopardize their careers because a rich man slaps another rich man. This same rich man who always manages to have light skinned and white women as co-stars.
The studios made sure Will Smith only got white/light-skinned costars. He said as much about Eva in Hitch.
There’s a lot going on behind the scenes in the most openly racist, sexist, ageist, classist, any-ist industry out there . (But that is not to say other industries aren’t worse—they just hide it better. Like the South versus the North.)
https://www.today.com/today/amp/wbna7019342
“Eva Mendes was given the role opposite Smith because the moviemakers were worried about the public’s reaction if the part was given to a white or an African American actress, according to Smith. The actor is saying that it was feared that a black couple would have put off worldwide audiences whereas a white/African American combo would have offended viewers in the U.S.”
Please, let’s not overreact here either. Chris Rock made three jokes about Jada in three decades, that’s hardly having a beef with her. Also there’s no proof he knew she had alopecia, many people didn’t. Plus he’s got his own disorder that makes him unable to understand body language, which could explain his reaction at the Oscars when Will came to him.
Anyway, I see double standards here where we excuse an aggression because we like the guy and blame the victim because he’s not perfect.
Will violated the code of conduct at a work event – of course there must be consequences. The Academy acted late and that’s on them.
Finally, Jada and Will discuss very private things very openly. That’s their right but nobody should be surprised people have opinions. My opinion is that Will has been battling demons lately (maybe exacerbated by writing his memoir and trying to lose weight publicly in the YouTube miniseries) and overreacted, but surely the bad/potentially hurtful joke was not the cause of his anger, and he needs to take time for himself.
I’m sure all of them (Jada, Will, Chris) ultimately will be fine, since all of them have some amount of privilege and quite some friends on their corners.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
A professional workplace would take many things into account and would quite likely have an employee counseling option in place. That is more effective than just a “time out” for someone. A professional workplace would also have to investigate misogynistic/racist comments whether or not intentional and have training for the one who uttered the statements. A professional workplace would also have long ago had a plan of action in place for occurrences of violence, verbal abuse, drug abuse, etc. So, the Academy is not impressive at all for professionalism.
From my outsider POV, I don’t think it’s the Academy’s purpose to police the film industry – its stated mission is to advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures. So there are various boards made up of industry professionals, who all have outside jobs, and there are centers for this and that and museums and restoration projects, etc. Membership in the Academy seems like how any exclusive club works – members are invited, the club has various activities, there’s a board of some sort, and when there’s a problem with a member the others get together to decide what to do about it. The members aren’t employees, there’s no place for counseling and training, no HR department.
What the Academy can do is diversify its membership, make sure the various centers and museums, etc., are run well and try not to screw up the Oscar show – and I’ll agree there; they haven’t been imporessive.
But even serious clubs have written bylaws and rules.
@Equality – yes, they do. And the Academy has its code of conduct, too. I belong to a couple of clubs – I don’t know how “serious” you’d call them. We have by-laws for the organization and rules for the members, and we have mandated employment rules for the few employees we’ve hired. Recently, we had to expel a member for harassing some of our women members. There was no counseling or training for this guy and it wasn’t our responsibility to fix whatever is wrong with him. Our responsibility is to the membership as a whole – he broke the rules, was acting like a pig, making women feel unsafe, so he had to go. If he were an employee, the process would have been completely different.
We as a society are trying to get in into people heads that a female member of the population should be able to walk around buck naked and not get attacked or violated, and the same extends to how one conducts their life however they like. I still contend that Rock’s joke was a well crafted joke intended to push down beyond the hair to draw comparisons with the actress demi moore who had a long term relationshp with a much younger man.
As someone who suffers with Alopecia i know what its like i did clever hair style to cover it up then i wore scarves which comes with its own baggage being asked to remove the scarf or wig at the airport. in the End i shaved it all off. Now i get comments like why did you stop wearing the scarf? with a follow on people will assume you are sick and it will make them feel uncomfortable. yes people have said this to my face. now the excuse that CR didnt know doesn’t wash when he made a documentary about black womens hair so he must have sussed that something was up. but he just wanted to push down regardless. He could have used the the the chant from Wakanda and i bet that would have been okay, or made comparisons to Grace jones, but to go to GI Jane i question his motives and that is what i base my theory on . Chris rock has been disprespecting black women for ages, from the fat feet in shoes that look like loaves to bread and countless others . Sure Will laughed at first becuase thats what he is trained to do in polite society, but his wife will absorb one more insult in addition to the pain of losing ones hair. Yes losing ones hair is a big deal as my Batber said its a womans crowning glory are he turned me away refusing to cut my hair so i had to do a hatched job on it and then get him to fix it. these are the things that stay with you.
I really don’t understand much about alopecia. And would like to ask a question. I knew a girl with it in high school but that’s the only person I know about. My question is that I thought it made all the hair in spots fall out. As in a bald hairless scalp. If you look at the pictures of Jada, yes her hair is cropped very short. But you can still tell the difference between where her hair is and where the skin is. I don’t notice any bald spots. Plus she has her eyebrows. Is she using makeup to cover spots?
@Robert Philips, there are different types of Alopecia , in some cases you can lose all body hair, including eye brows, in its just spots on your head . from the video she showed Jada’s is in spots and not all over her body, but then its probably in its early stages depends on what treatment she is getting .
@Palma – 💯
@Lili – I appreciate everything you wrote and completely agree that Chris shouldn’t have made that misogynistic joke about Jada, even if he didn’t know that she has alopecia. However, I don’t understand the argument that it would have been better to compare her to other beautiful bald women such as Grace Jones or the actresses in the Black Panther? Wouldn’t that have still been making a joke about her baldness? It’s a bit of a stretch to say that Chris was comparing her to Demi because Demi was married to a younger man. I really don’t think he was trying to make any reference to Jada’s past “entanglement.”
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Agreed
Without any context for any other behavior of all the other male members who are a part of the academy- this would be appropriate and should have been investigated earlier as he laid his hands “publicly” on a fellow member and should have popped him seconds off stage.
Within the context of all the other behavior from other members, you know, I know, we all know – it seems hypocritical and targeted and bitter.
And if the only excuse for the difference is – it was live, the other men’s slightly offensive/criminal behavior was offline or hearsay or a few decades to a few years ago or just harmless kissy kissy or the recoding of Mel’s racist anti semantic rant to an authority figure had no video – Will’s family should keep their couple stuff offline – sure, fine, cool, great – the Oscar status quo is re-established – and back patting for a good public job re-assumed – non-famous and famous ppl offline can be safely assured that being physically and or mentally abused by academy members offline will be celebrated publicly again and never be punished as long as it’s not done live in ceremony- woo….. confetti
Thank you for that very sensible comment.
@palma 💯. I don’t understand why everyone is excusing his hitting someone as it’s no big deal. In the workplace you would be fired for hitting someone, full stop. While I don’t necessarily agree with the 10 year ban, I do think they needed to take some type of action. I’m just really shocked by everyone on this site excusing his behavior. Every year Oscar hosts make terrible offensive jokes about celebrities, that doesn’t mean they should be physically assaulted.
Perfectly said . . . Comparing Smith’s punishment compared to other criminals creates confusion, imo and takes our eyes off the big picture. His behavior was horrid and there are -some – consequences.
This isn’t true (About Chris Rock)
And no one is excusing it. But everyone caping for Chris Rock who apparently had a set that just went after Hillary Clinton, Meghan Markle, and others can go kick rocks.
Great, sensible comment, Palma.
People trying to compare Will’s punishment to Harvey Weinstein (who is banned for life) and his ilk — what those men have done is obviously far worse, but comparing those situations is a false equivalence. Will slapped someone *at* an Academy event. Not at the after party, or at his home, or in a hotel. On stage, at the Oscars, while the cameras were rolling. Obviously it is the responsibility of the Oscars to take action in such an instance, as they would for anyone this day and age if an altercation happened at the actual event that broke their code of conduct.
Are there other nuances to this situation? Yes, of course. But the direct line of Will getting physical with someone to getting punished for it is the simplest thing about this situation.
Lol.. Ridiculous..
All this fuss for “violence” that would’ve been laughed out of a court of law as a waste of time.
Assault and battery is a crime. The crime was committed on live television. If Rock wanted to press charges, it would not be laughed out of court. However, Will would probably only have to pay a fine.
A slap is “just a slap” unless it happens to you. Then it’s violence. Rock might have been out of line with his joke, but the idea that a man shouldn’t be bothered or upset because “it’s just a slap” isn’t a good step either.
Eurydice- it would totally be laughed out of court if went to trial. It’s a crime that should be plea bargained out before going to court. No judge would waste time- they’d tell the lawyers to settle it without wasting the court’s time.
So what I’ve been wondering is how would this have shaken out if Will had been arrested for assault? (It shouldn’t be up to a victim (however deserving they might be of a slap) to decide whether or not they “press charges”. I walked that road with my sister too many times to count during her abusive marriage). Would the Academy then feel that they wouldn’t have to take further steps? It’s impossible not to see some level of racism in the whole business.
And if I were anyone who attends that event who had any kind of threat situation, I wouldn’t go because their stage protection is trash. After the Kanye/Taylor thing, procedures should have been out in place to prevent that from ever happening again.
I hate that they are making Rock into a hero. But whatever. I don’t watch anyway. I hope Will stays winning and they die mad about it.
This comment also applies to all the Karens wringing their hands here. Stay mad, Salty!
💯 Trina. People acting as though Will committed murder.
I don’t think this is only about the slap. I think this is the Academy retaliating for #OscarsSoWhite in 2015. Jada was not shy and used her voice to condemn the all-white nominations, as all should have. I think the Academy sees this as an opportunity to punish Will and Jada for speaking up when they were absolutely right to do so.
The Academy needs to do some deep self-reflection bc we see them. We see what they do, we hear what they say and they are telling us so much more than they realize.
That makes a lot of sense.
Agreed. The Academy also seems quite happy to go after Will Packer and many members are upset about the cut down run time, the awards cut, etc and all seem to blame him for a decision that I doubt was his.
Rock will never apologize to Jada.
Excessive!
Will Smith made no secret of the fact that he was going for an Oscar all those years. But now that he’s got one, dies he still need them? Do we think he was planning on attending in the next few years anyway, after all this? It feels like an embarrassed overreaction from the academy after the fact.
I think resigning his membership preemptively was a smart move that forced the academy’s hand, and likely deescalated any attempts to try to snatch back his statuette. I don’t know enough about Will Smith to know whether resigning his position of influence will hurt, or whether he’s decided he no longer needs the approval of the academy.
He’s still a marketable star, so I’d be very surprised if this affects his future projects. If anything, it might be freeing not to have to play the prestige game. Maybe he’ll just do TV, isn’t he still involved with the Fresh Prince reboot?
My one regret is that I really thought he would be a good Oscar host someday, and that seems unlikely now.
He quit them so the worst they could do was give him a 10 year ban? Ok… He’s already over it and that is that. In 11 years Chris will say a joke about jada boycotting the oscars for 10 years
Definitely telling on themselves. Nothing says the rules are different like not only nominating but rewarding Polanski and Allen. The Oscars have never been for Black people.
“The Oscars have never been for Black people.”
Exactly. Never watched before and never will.
I don’t understand this “apologize to Jada nonsense.” Did you expect Ricky Gervais to apologize to any of the actors he insulted and offended while doing his job? They are there to be honoured and among the most pampered humans on the planet. They can take a lil ribbing. To Jada’s credit, she just rolled her eyes while half smiling like, “Really Chris?” They all go way back and have a familiarity and working relationship with each other anyway. Will grossly overreacted and The Academy grossly overreacted in their punishment. Really unbelievable that Will worked so hard and has so much talent and right before earning his highest honor, he imploded.
No. We’re expecting Chris Rock specifically to apologize to a Black woman for going off script when he was presenting one award (not hosting) to target and insult a specific Black woman’s hair when she had an immune condition.
It would go a long way to him recognising his harm to that demographic when he should already understand why it’s problematic. It was peak punching down while softballing everyone else who were likely aware of the scripted jokes.
Calling that nonsense says more about you. And frankly the roasting segment of the Oscars is what needs to stop there’s not a single ‘joke’ that hasn’t aged like milk.
@Carrie As a black man, Chris Rock knew he was relying on misogynoir and told the joke to a predominantly white space anyway. THAT is why he owes Jada an apology and why your comparison is not the same.
But, Carrie: Jada was at the awards to support her husband who was the nominee. She wasn’t there to be honored. If, for example, Jeff Bridges was nominated, would anyone expect the Oscars presenter to make a tasteless joke (or ANY joke) about Jeff’s wife? Of course not, because it would be seen as a serious misfire. Jada should’ve had equal immunity. It would have been more appropriate by far if Chris had made a joke about Will (not using his wife as the vehicle) or made a joke to Jada that targeted Will. Going after someone’s partner is just … really rude and awful. Too few people are talking about that.
This just makes me sad. It is very disproportionate compared to other academy members who have behaved badly and it also highlights the lack of punishment for real violence in our world like the men who attempted to kidnap the Michigan Governor being acquitted.
And the ceremony is once again safe for rapists, pedophiles, and the apologists who make excuses for them while being outraged by a slap.
Nominated for an award, slapped the man bullying his wife for years, won said Oscar and now doesn’t have to sit through 10 years worth of boring ceremonies…eh, sounds like a win to me. But in all seriousness this wouldn’t be happening if he was white and I’ll just leave it at that.
In all seriousness, it’s a very unique situation and you have no clue what would and wouldn’t be happening to a white man. I’m quite sure that if Cumberbatch or Garfield pulled this stunt this year, the same thing would have happened to them.
He isn’t prevented from being nominated or even winning, just attending the ceremony. And he just got an Oscar, so he likely wasn’t going to get another one in most of those years anyway. It’s really not that unreasonable a punishment. You ruined the ceremony and the broadcast? You sit them out next time.
@Plam Plam Yes, just like Adrian Brody was banned for ten years for sexually assaulting Halle Berry on live tv.
Oh wait, they never did that. I wonder what the difference between the situations could possibly be?
Maybe I’m naive, but I genuinely do think this punishment would still happen if he was white, and I think if he were anyone less beloved than Will Smith (or vice versa, if someone better liked than Chris Rock was slapped), there’d be a lot less debate over if he should/why he’s getting punished.
I honestly can’t imagine a scenario where an actor hopped up on stage to slap somebody during the live broadcast and the Academy waved it off. Not in 2022. Adrien Brody’s sexual assault of Halle Berry is something that should absolutely be revisited by the Academy if that was okay with Halle (in fairness, they should now hand down appropriate punishment to any unruly behavior that happened on stage), but we’ve come a long way in 20 years in naming what assault is and why consent matters.
When will the academy address Adrian Brody’s sexual assault of Halle Berry on their LIVE Oscar telecast all those years ago?
She certainly didn’t expect to be mauled and assault by that fool.
Good. Battering another human being has consequences. I’ve lost all respect for Will Smith. The trauma that Chris Rock experienced in front of the world will last the rest of his life. I can’t believe so many of you condone violence and are willing to overlook the effects experienced by Rock. It’s truly mind blowing. As a nurse, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised after watching how many of you also didn’t care about one million of your countrymen dying from coronavirus. Americans have truly become a horrible lot.
Chris Rock is a nasty bastard and deserved it!
I agree with Girl Ninja. Personally I think the 10 year ban was appropriate and proportional for something that happened on THEIR stage. I think 5 years would have been too little.
But likewise, the Brody thing was SO offensive – I think it’s worthwhile to examine that, especially if Halle Berry raised it now. I say that only because I think it may be beyond the pyschological “statute of limitations”. How long ago was it? But that was YES as offensive as the slap, and it happened on their stage.
That’s the only thing that gives me heartburn here.
And on Chris – 100 % with Palma. For god’s sake GIJane was seen as a sex symbol. If he knew she had the condition that would be different.
It was 19 years ago. But, the Academy does like take their time in dealing with things.
I really wish people would stop telling other people what they should find as complimentary, especially black women. I’m so sick of hearing how we’re so strong so we can do 1000% of the heavy lifting in life and nothing can get her down. It’s great that you saw GI Jane as a sex symbol, and if someone compared you to her, I presume you would be flattered. Doesn’t mean Jada needed to be. The comparison was about Jada and how she looked and compared to that character, how we view that character has zero weight, not should impact her feelings on the comparison.
It really tells a lot about you, and you call yourself a nurse. You are very presumptuous of saying Americans do not care. You don’t know shit about Americans.
Do we really know whether Chris was unaware of Jada’s health condition? If there’s been a statement to that effect I missed it.
If Chris truly was unaware I would expect anyone in his position to apologize to Jada publicly after the fact. It would make him look better and not worse.
I don’t think he gets carte blanche because he’s a comedian. There’s no need to excuse hurtful behaviour under the guise of being funny. I learned this as a grade 7 girl when boys would pick on me – and others – for various physical attributes or lack thereof, etc. to make others laugh. In fact, I consider it bullying.
Humour abounds even when it doesn’t include insulting people.
@RN Getting tired of white women centering themselves in this (and I’m a white woman). WOC have been all over these threads addressing the complexities of the situation, and yet you still want to make this about your own experience and your thoughts on Rock’s “trauma”. I fail to see how you being a nurse makes you qualified to pass judgment.
Still bot referencing what Jada herself said. Interesting.
I think there have been some fake quotes circulating. No reputable publication has picked it up. If Jada had commented on Will’s Oscar slap, it would be everywhere.
You mean the story from “sources” that ran in US weekly that the daily mail picked up and ran like an exclusive?
Russell Crowe who appeared to be a shoo in for best actor for a Beautiful Mind, had a meltdown in a hotel where he threw a phone. I think that was why he lost out on getting the Oscar that year. I think this decision is typical of the Academy. Crowe had already won an Oscar though for Gladiator.
A Beautiful Mind came out in 2001. Russell Crowe’s phone throwing incident occured in 2005. So that had nothing to do with it.
You are right. It was another episode that I think cost him the Oscar. When he was accepting an award for A Beautiful Mind (he won an award in the UK), his acceptance speech was cut and he pushed the director Malcolm Gerrie against a wall and cursed him out. This was said to have cost him the Oscar not the telephone episode. I looked it up and several in the industry called it “Oscar Suicide.”
Goldie, correct. He lost to Denzel Washington for Training Day, which was a powerhouse performance. Oddly enough, Will Smith was also a nominee for best actor that particular year.
That’s interesting. I guess I just think there’s a difference between not winning an Oscar vs having your Oscar revoked. Like if Will had slapped Chris at the SAG awards and ended up losing, I don’t think that would have been in unfair. However several academy members are calling for his Oscar to be revoked.
Gross to see so many in favor of a comedian being publicly assaulted for a joke that Will himself was laughing at before the insufferable jada’s stinkface!
Tessa, I may be wrong, but I think what lost Crowe that Oscar was assaulting a director at a party. Can’t remember exactly the circumstances, but it was roughly that, I believe.
I checked out some of the articles and its seems that the director of the British awards show was pushed by Crowe who cursed him out. The voting for the Oscars was not completed so the voters could still vote against him. Crowe’s acceptance speech at the awards show was cut from the broadcast and he got angry about it.
A lot of Karen/Ken comments today still lusting for Will’s blood and total banishment. Salty cause he didn’t get cuffed, hauled off to jail. “He did it on live TV. Oh no!” There are far worse things that get shown on TV and no one loses their mind over it. And I’m surprised no one has slapped Chris Rock before now. He’s an awful, hateful person who constantly punches down on black women.
Then don’t show up. Will knew that Chris was the host and that Chris has a history of crappy behaviour.
But Will wanted that Oscar so much that he stayed after he hit Chris, to collect his trophy. He doesn’t get to have it both ways.
If the Academy is so bad (they are) that they got a verbal abuser to emcee (they did), then stay home. The Smiths didn’t need their racist, sexist crap. But don’t assault someone and then hang around for your award from the same people who hired the terrible person who verbally assaulted your wife.
Will went out of his way to show everyone just how important the Academy is. He’s not a victim.
People have refused to show up to collect the Oscar before (thinking of Marlon Brando, but there may be others). It didn’t stop his career. If the whole thing is wrong (and it is) address the whole thing and walk away.
George C. Scott refused his Oscar for Patton which created quite the stir.
Chris wasn’t the host. He just presented & didn’t stay on script.
Adrian Brody sexually assaulted Halle Berry live on stage during the broadcast. I’m not against accountability, but anyone saying that a 10 year ban for a slap isn’t at least worth a dialogue on racism and sexism in Hollywood, and saying with conviction and certainty that this as “nothing to do with race” either does not know the history or is in complete and utter denial about white supremacy
Am I the only one who saw a man attack someone? If I saw this at my local coffee shop, cops would have been called. Charges would have been filed. It wouldn’t matter what one man said about another man’s wife. Since when did physical violence become acceptable? Or an exercise in relativity? We’re really saying “what they did was worse so what I did is ok?” What are we 5 years old? What Smith did was wrong period. It has nothing to do with Polanski or Weinstein.
You’re not the only one. It was an ugly response to an ugly insult. I don’t judge Will as bad for what he did, but it’s physical aggression, and it should and does have consequences. I’m sure he understands that.
LOL
For some of you saying that Will has some sort of privilege, he doesn’t. Once again I don’t condone what happened but I am pretty sure if he wasn’t a man of color, nothing would happen. I will no longer watch the Oscar’s.
It’s very telling who is talking about Will’s privilege. It would be nice if they could stop centering themselves in the experience of others. I wish they had the same kind of energy for the people who are taking away the rights of girls, women, and queer people across the country.
Will enjoys immense privilege in many areas and less than his white counterparts in others. The fact that he remained in the theater after the slap, was able to accept his award and party the night away in public view is nothing but privilege 100% not awarded to the average person. Anyone can chime in on the fact that that is NOT the normal response/reaction to what he did.
However, I agree that the backlash from the slap would probably be less severe if it was a white actor of the same pedigree. In my mind, I’m thinking Tom Cruise or Keanu Reeves (who, lovely as he is, will never be in a position to win an Oscar) and yes, its hard to visualize the extended excoriation (well, Cruise would undoubtedly get way more heat than Reeves), although I can see the punishment being the same or similar.
Chris insulted Jada, not Will. Women are not weak damsels in distress who need men to fix things. Jada could have publicly cussed Chris out, and it would have been appropriate.
Will would have been right to step in if his wife (or anyone else) was being physically assaulted, but hitting someone at a work event because you don’t like what’s coming out of their mouth is wrong.
Further, Will should have walked out. Giving the Academy more power because he thought that he needed their award defeated the purpose of what he did. Walk away from the mess that is the Academy. Reject their award and the crap that goes along with it.
Adrian Brodie’s assault on Hallie Berry should be next on the Academy’s agenda. I’m split between them asking for Hallie’s insight and permission, or if they should do it regardless because assault is assault.
It should never be too late to punish a person for physically or sexually assaulting someone.
@Bunny Your comment comes from a place of privilege. You speak as though you’ve always had a system in place to protect you —physically, mentally, emotionally. Black women do not have that privilege, and it is not up to someone else to decide what kind of “strength” is required for them to demonstrate.
The Smiths had the strength to publicly (and rightfully) boycott the Oscars in 2016, but when Will was up for the grand prize, their strength left them. Really?
In fact, reading an article from Variety written at the time, Will joined Jada. She decided to boycott first, and was not quiet about it. She was strong enough six years ago to go it alone, but not now?
He indicates in the article that they knew that they had a responsibility to use their power to fix the issue. He said:
“There’s a position that we hold in this community and if we’re not a part of the solution, we’re part of the problem,” Smith told Roberts. “And it was her call to action for herself and for me and for our family to be a part of the solution.”
The article title is: “Will Smith Says He Won’t Attend Oscars” on Variety.
They are not now and were not six years ago too weak or powerless to walk away. They decided not to so that he could collect the statue.
Finally, you know absolutely nothing about me or who I am. As a handicapped woman, I have no value and no privilege. The list of things I can’t do or have to literally beg for is neverending. No safety net, no safety, and no protection. No travel (can’t afford the equipment the airlines deem necessary). Lots of job, education, and public accomodation discrimination. I believe I’ve mentioned my handicap here previously, so you may be able to search for it.
I haven’t mentioned my ethnicity, but you seem more than willing to make assumptions, and I don’t have time for that, so assume away.
@sigmund
Yes!
This is excessive but then it’s really about butt-covering. The Academy failed to remove Smith after the act and then lied about asking him to leave. This is merely trying to exercise authority after they messed up to cover up that they messed up.
Frankly, I’m not overly concerned about this, rather the faux hand-wringing whites using this as a means to try and blacklist Smith and his family because they don’t believe he should be as successful as he is. People in the industry stopping films being forwarded to his production company and such.
People need to understand that there were avenues for resolution for this incident. Rock did not press charges so that left criminal justice out and apparently that’s why some people are mad. They didn’t get to see the Black man in cuffs getting dragged, so now here come the white tears to push that he should be excessively punished outside of those channels. Keep an eye out for the blacklisting that I’m sure some were foaming at the mouth to do decades ago.
I think it’s interesting this code of conduct only went into place after #metoo, so around 2016? I wonder if the Adrien Brody incident had happened now, would he face a similar ban?
I get the Academy felt they had to do something, but I think they think it’s a bigger punishment than it actually is.
I don’t agree with this punishment but I agree with what someone up at the top comments said about the fact that this was live on tv and everyone saw it. Where’s the other things were behind the scenes. Does it make it right? No, but that’s Hollywood and the academy, they don’t like things shown out in the open. It’s like sports and keeping stuff in the locker room.
You can yell white men’s names out and it’s not gonna do anything, if we really want to do something, we gotta boycott these Oscars no matter what. No watching it al all next year. They will see the ratings drop and that’s where you hit ‘em.
I do however think people should lay off Chris Rock. He’s a comedian. The joke wasn’t that bad. If we lose comedy, this world will be even more dreadful than it is. We have to be able to laugh at some things and not make everything a chance to pick at something to death to try and cancel someone. If you don’t like his comedy, don’t watch. I said the same about Dave Chappell. Comedy is an art and it’s needed in this depressing world.
I don’t think Chris Rock will apologize because a. He doesn’t feel he’s done anything wrong and b. Apologizing would affirm his culpability and he would not be able to sue Will for millions in civil court.
The notion that Chris is going to “sue Will for millions” shows total ignorance of Chris Rock and his career. He isn’t some scrub struggling comedian, and he isn’t some snowflake snitch. This is nothing but golden comedic fodder for his next special. He didn’t want Will escorted and he didn’t want to press charges and he won’t.
re Chris Rock: No one is trying to “cancel” him. Even people who were offended by his joke are not trying to get him fired. The most I’ve heard people say is that he should apologize.
In any case, his tours are selling out. He’s more popular than ever. He”lol be fine
…and yet, not a word about how offensive Chris Rock’s joke was. This isn’t only about Jada, but anyone who is actually suffering from a disease and/or a disability. She has been open about her struggle for a while. Nope. Not cool at all.
The optics would be so different if Chris Rock had made a sincere apology. In my opinion both men were in the wrong. They shouldn’t have done what they did. Will apologized and took action/made amends.
Chris Rock – silent.
Everyone makes mistakes. What we do after our mistakes is what reveals our character.
Bunny, I support and appreciate you. Type away. Your opinion is as valid as anyone else’s. I wish you the best.
For Jada’s 40th birthday, Will worked for 3 years to plan “the greatest proclamation of his love for her.” Jada called it the “greatest display of his ego.” Similarly, that’s what The Slap was–Will’s fragile male ego on display. He removed Jada’s agency and it was all about him. This is why Jada put it out there she thinks Will overreacted. If anyone owes Jada an apology it’s Will. Now I feel for whatever demons Will is fighting and remain a fan but he is the only one that went wrong here. Jada has every right to react how she wants and not have it turn into a PR disaster for both of them like Will made it by going caveman macho on everyone. Maybe the open relationship isn’t working so well for either of them.
‘what kills me is that the Slap made the Oscars into a huge event and one of the biggest cultural moments of the year, and the incident will be referenced in every awards show (including the Oscars) from now on. They’ll find ways to profit from it, monetize it and laugh about it, all while keeping Will marginalized and banned. The Academy looks so out of touch here’
Completely agree
He’s been dragged for two weeks and banned from the Oscars for ten years. Enough.
You know how you know it’s racist? Because it’s stupid. This could have easily been turned around into a reconciliation episode down the line to drive PR and interest. I literally can’t imagine being so stupid that I’d pass up the opportunity to do something with this. Smarter PR could have pivoted to drive it to both of their projects. Just goes to show how seriously Hollywood takes itself, in all honesty lol.
The slap was absolutely shocking.
It really wasn’t. Honestly. Sit and think about everything that’s happened in Hollywood, in the world, and believe me, you’ll realize that the slap was a slap. People have live streamed themselves murdering people in churches; reporters have been shot in the head while doing the news. And you’re calling an open-hand slap across the face shocking?
My personal shock was that it happened, and came from Will Smith, live at the Oscars. And of course, the reaction or lack-thereof towards it for the rest of the broadcast.
In isolation, it is as shocking as a bar fight (even less so, as those are usually close-fisted and involve back-and-forth): arousing momentary alarm, disgust and dismay, but unworthy of anything but a personal anecdote the day after. If any of that happened to my family members though (public humiliation, assault), it would add a layer of devastation, so I do feel for everyone involved.
I still wish none of this happened and Smith kept his reaction to a verbal admonition. However, this really is a gross overreaction. They could have had him make amends, ban for 3 years,and do something positive like outreach and charity. This is basically to bury his career and the organization to save face because of conservative backlash from the old guard. Not that I was watching before, but certainly not watching it in future. Also,I still think Chris Rock is a troll.
Will will be fine. Other than the butt of jokes for the rest of his career. He brings in too much money to drop. A handful of people might not want to work with him but unless some seedy info about him is leaked, he’ll be just fine. He won’t like missing the exposure but guarantee Jada will come up with something attention seeking that night.
I think it’s cute that the Academy believes that the Oscars will be around for another 10 years.
Considering that an article came out the other day with an actor demanding that Smith give his Oscar back the Academy can kick rocks.
Did anything happen to John Wayne after he was restrained by 6 men from going on stage during Sacheen’s speech in 1973?