Academy Awards is now taking action by initiating an inquiry on Will Smith assaulting Chris Rock at the show.
Recently, everything got uncomfortable at the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, when Will Smith smacked the comedian Chris Rock after he joked about Jada Smith’s haircut. Following this, audiences and the industry criticized the onstage rage, yelling, and cursing Rock. On Monday, Will posted a public apology on his official Instagram handle to make things even.
In the post, he wrote that he felt embarrassed about his “unacceptable and inexcusable” actions and was “out of line.” AMPAS, (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) which is the conducting authority slamed Smith’s action and initiated an inquiry to scrutinize the incident.
Academy Awards To Start Formal Inquiry
On Sunday night, at the Oscars, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock which went live, and later, the actor publicly apologized for it on social media. This came after the academy, celebs, and viewers scrutinized his rage and onstage assault by him. There were chances of him losing his very first oscar trophy as well. Because the major Hollywood union had declared that it does not support any kind of harassment or discrimination.
The Academy awards released a statement over the incident, “The academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standard of conduct, and California law.”
The five-page document about the standards of conduct mentioned what actions are considered unacceptable. It was discussed in the meeting held on Monday. The official statement by the film organization came after this meeting and as per the document, “physical contact that is uninvited and, in the situation, inappropriate and unwelcome, or coercive sexual attention” is forbidden. Also, “intimidation, stalking, abusive or threatening behavior, or bullying” is illegal.
If any member violates any of the code of conduct, as per bylaws, “suspension of membership or expulsion from membership” can be the consequence.
Before this incident, the Academy has expelled many members. Harvey Weinstein in 2017 due to allegations of sexual harassment and rape. In 2018, Bill Cosby was expelled under the charges of sexual assault, then filmmaker Roman Polanski due to statutory rape. The major organization has stated the incident as ‘unacceptable’. However, it did not make any comment on “any pending member disciplinary process.”
Smith Was About To Lose His Oscar
As per sources, the discussion ignited backstage about detaching Mr. Smith from the theater after the incident. However, at a short notice, it was not possible to do the changes and Will was in recommendations excessively to win the Best Actor award. As per industry officials, they were concerned to make the live broadcast off-air for a while.
After winning the best actor award, Will gave an emotional and apologized to the audience and attendees but not to Rock at that time. He stated during his acceptance speech, “At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.” His emotional speech got a standing ovation.
On Monday, he posted a long apology note on his Instagram where he expressed regret and apologized to Chris. As per sources, the comedian and host of the show, Chris Rock refused to file any case against Will Smith. Also, the joke by Chris seemed ad-libbed. Marshall Herskovitz, the former president of the Producers Guild of America has made it clear for Smith to face punitive action. This was not the first that Chris got Will’s attention as the two share bitter history.
Also Read: “Oh Shit”- Enraged Fans Targets The Wrong Will Smith On Twitter After Oscar Slap Incident
