As the entertainment world continues to reel from the aftermath of Will Smith smacking Chris Rock in the face at the Oscars — heretofore known as “The Slap” — one of the biggest questions from the evening is why wasn’t Smith removed from the event. Granted, Rock declined to press charges for the assault, but the entire auditorium saw the whole thing happen. Although, at the time, many still thought the exchange was part of a scripted bit because, honestly, who in a million years would think Will Smith, one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, would clock Chris Rock in the mouth during one of the biggest awards show on the planet.
According to sources at the ceremony, that moment of confusion was enough cover for Smith to remain at the event and ultimately take the stage to accept his award for Best Actor. On top of that, the Academy appears to not have a written rule against striking fellow members during the ceremony. We’re not even joking. Via Variety:
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.
Other sources also claimed that ABC producers were concerned about the “optics” of removing Smith from the building after he defended his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, from an offensive joke that was reportedly “off the cuff” and not scripted.
In the meantime, the Academy has issued a more sternly worded statement about the incident, and just as Whoopi Goldberg predicted, Smith is facing a potential disciplinary action.
“The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show,” the Academy said in a new statement. “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.”
Well, okay. That should settle everything once and for all. Or not. Probably not. In fact, let’s just go with “not at all,” to be safe.
(Via Variety)
