Oscars 2022
Does the slap have consequences for Will Smith?
Will Smith with his Oscar for best actor
© Doug Peters/ / Picture Alliance
Shock moment at the Oscars: Will Smith spontaneously came on stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock after he joked about Smith’s wife. Now the police and the Academy have reacted.
Could Chris Rock’s impromptu slap at the Oscars have consequences for Will Smith? Like a Hollywood insider who “NY Post” reports that it is entirely possible that Smith will lose the Oscar he has just won. “It was basically an assault. Everyone in the room was so shocked, it was very uncomfortable,” the anonymous source said of the incident. “I don’t think Will wants to give his Oscar back, but who knows what might happen next.”
Smith lashed out at Rock after the comedian made a particularly tacky joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith. “‘GI Jane 2’ – I can’t wait to see that,” he said, referring to the film GI Jane, for which Demi Moore shaved his head. Pinkett-Smith suffers from hair loss due to an autoimmune disease and also keeps her hair cropped.
The police will only investigate if Chris Rock files a complaint
The awards ceremony went ahead as planned, and a few minutes later Smith even received the Oscar for best actor. The organizers only gave a short statement on Twitter: “The Academy does not tolerate any form of violence,” it said, somewhat contradicting the show. It wasn’t until 2017 that the Academy imposed a new code of conduct after the case of sex offender and film producer Harvey Weinstein got the #MeToo movement rolling. It sets out the values of Academy members, such as inclusion, mutual support and “respect for human dignity.”
This could also mean trouble for Chris Rock: Apparently his nasty joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith was not agreed with the Academy, how “Daily Mail” reported. He is said not to have done it in rehearsals. The Oscars are traditionally considered a rather harmless event, the really nasty sayings tend to fall at the Golden Globes.
Los Angeles police have since confirmed that Chris Rock declined to press charges. “The Los Angeles Police Department is aware that an incident between two people during the Academy Awards ceremony resulted in one person hitting another. If the person concerned later wishes to file a complaint, the police would be available to investigate available,” says an official statement according to “Variety”. At least Will Smith seems to be spared a fine.