Academy initiates proceedings
Will Smith refused to leave Oscars – disciplinary action is imminent
Will Smith with his Oscar for best actor
© Doug Peters/ / Picture Alliance
Two days after the slapping scandal at the Oscars, the academy board meets and takes Will Smith to court. He is said to have refused to leave the event – despite being asked.
The Oscar Academy is moving quickly into action. Just two days after the slap scandal on the Oscar stage, the board of directors meets and takes Hollywood star Will Smith to court. Disciplinary proceedings will be initiated against the “King Richard” actor, the film association announced in a statement on Wednesday. Smith’s conduct at Sunday’s awards gala violated the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Code of Conduct.
Will Smith smacked Chris Rock onstage at the show after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett. It was about her shaved head, the actress suffers from pathological hair loss. Back in his seat, he yelled twice more in Rock’s direction, “Keep my wife’s name out of your damn mouth!”.
Guests at the Dolby Theater and millions of viewers on screen quickly realized that this shocking moment was not a planned part of the show. Smith later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in King Richard. In his acceptance speech, he presented himself as a protector and seemed to want to defend the failure. On Monday he apologized via Instagram. The incident is embarrassing for him.
Despite being kicked out: Will Smith is said to have refused to go
Smith’s behavior was described as “deeply shocking” and “traumatic” by the film academy on Wednesday. A surprising revelation: Smith was asked to leave the gala on Sunday evening. But he did not comply. The association expressed itself critically: “We could have dealt with the situation differently”. The next meeting is scheduled for April 18th. One possible consequence is Smith’s expulsion from the Academy, the statement said.
This has rarely happened in the history of the Oscars. In 2004, actor Carmine Caridi was kicked out after 22 years of membership. He had passed on film tapes sent to him for Oscar judging. These then appeared on the Internet as pirated copies.
In 2017, Harvey Weinstein was expelled from the renowned association after allegations of sexual harassment. The ex-producer is now serving a long prison sentence. In 2018, comedian Bill Cosby was found guilty of sexual assault and director Roman Polanski for a sex offense in the 1970s.
The academy has over 10,000 film professionals, including actors, directors, producers, costume and set designers. Most of these vote for the Oscar winners each year.
Following Wednesday’s emergency meeting, the Academy also issued an apology to Chris Rock, guests and viewers. They wanted to apologize for what happened to the comedian on their stage and thank him for his frustration tolerance, the statement said.
Rock, who initially did not comment publicly after the incident, was on stage Wednesday night with his comedy show “Ego Death Tour” in Boston. There the 57-year-old was greeted with thunderous applause, as the film sheet “Variety” reported. He would still “process” the Oscar incident and address it at a later date. “And that’s going to be serious and funny,” the comedian said, according to Variety. According to the newspaper, ticket sales for Rock’s performances have multiplied.