Monday 28 March 2022

VIDEO: Watch the uncensored moment Will Smith smacks Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, drops F-bomb /Oscars condemns Will Smith slap and launches review / Will Smith: can his career survive – or is the Fresh Prince finished?/ Could Will Smith be stripped of his Oscar? Academy faces pressure to respond after disgraced star broke Code of Conduct drawn up in wake of MeToo Movement

Should the Academy accept this kind of Violence on stage !?

There are calls for the Academy to strip Will Smith of his Best Actor Oscar after he walked on stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock who was presenting an award on stage, after making a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith's hair.

The Academy, in its code of conduct, is known to take a very a dim view of violence of any kind.


Could Will Smith be stripped of his Oscar? Academy faces pressure to respond after disgraced star broke Code of Conduct drawn up in wake of MeToo Movement

 


Actor Will Smith stormed the Oscars stage and struck comedian Chris Rock across the face for joking about his wife

The moment left attendees and viewers stunned with calls for the Academy to strip Smith of his accolade

Assault violates Academy Code of Conduct set up in wake of Me Too Movement

LAPD said no reports of assault had been filed but was 'aware of an incident'

Rock cracked a joke comparing Jada Pinkett Smith's tightly cropped hair to Demi Moore's appearance in the film 'G.I. Jane' and suggested she appear in a sequel

 

By JAMES GORDON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 06:59, 28 March 2022 | UPDATED: 08:23, 28 March 2022

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10658739/Academy-faces-call-address-comedians-assault-not-seen-condone-violence.html

 

There are calls for the Academy to strip Will Smith of his Best Actor Oscar after he walked on stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock who was presenting an award on stage, after making a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith's hair.

 

The Academy, in its code of conduct, is known to take a very a dim view of violence of any kind.

 

After the award ceremony was over it tweeted: 'The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.'

 

 The Academy reestablished its Code of Conduct in 2017 during the Me Too Movement.

 

'Academy membership is a privilege offered to only a select few within the global community of filmmakers,' AMPAS CEO Dawn Hudson wrote to members following various scandals in the industry.

 

On Sunday night, in the Dolby Theatre, there was complete bewilderment in the moments after the assault with took place with those present initially wondering if the punch was part of a stunt. 

 

It took a few moments for the normally unflappable Rock to process but the colorful language from Smith quickly confirmed it wasn't any kind of joke at all.

 

The punch threw the entire Oscars broadcast into chaos as producers were frantically forced into deciding how to deal with the on-air assault, with Smith still yet to receive his Best Actor statuette.

 

Could Will Smith be stripped of his Oscar? The Academy faces pressure to respond after the King Richard star broke the Academy's Code of Conduct drawn up during Me Too Movement

 

Under normal circumstances, Smith would have almost certainly have been removed by security guards and escorted out of the auditorium for the attack, but the slap came moments before the award for Best Actor was to be announced.

 

Only three people in the building knew that Smith was to receive the coveted prize including the show's producer Will Packer and two accountants from Price Waterhouse Coopers who oversee the tabulating of the Oscars results before the winning envelopes are handed out and opened onstage.

 

Producers were therefore placed in an impossible situation as to how to deal with the assault. 

 

Smith's rep could be seen rushing to be by his side as the actor sat back down next to his wife, while the producer of the entire Oscars show, Packer, was also seen racing to Smith's table and said something to him.

 

The LAPD were also informed of what had occurred on stage but revealed later that no complaint had been filed.

 

During the commercial break which followed, Will Smith was pulled aside and comforted by Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry appeared to motion for him to brush it off.

 

Smith's publicist continued speaking with him during the final commercial breaks of the Oscars broadcast which were quickly inserted into the broadcast while producers dealt with the panic behind the scenes.

 

Backstage the academy told gathered journalists not to ask any of the actors present about the slap seen around the world, but it was all that anyone was talking about at the Oscar parties that take place after the show was done. 

 

Fifteen minutes after the assault, Smith who appeared shaken picked up the biggest accolade of his life as he collected the Best Actor award making a tearful speech in which he attempted to link his outburst to his character in King Richard as someone who 'defended his family.'

 

He also took a moment to issue an apology to the Academy and to his fellow nominees, but that may not be enough with calls for him now to be stripped of the award.

 

'It's basically assault. Everyone was just so shocked in the room, it was so uncomfortable' one executive told the New York Post.

 

'I think Will would not want to give his Oscar back, but who knows what will happen now.'

 

Director Judd Apatow was appalled by the behavior he witnessed onstage.

 


'He could have killed him. That's pure out of control rage and violence. They've heard a million jokes about them in the last three decades. They are not freshman in the world of Hollywood and comedy. He lost his mind.'

 

Director Apatow was appalled by the behavior he witnessed onstage

 

Smith could be seen appearing to wipe tears from his eyes as Denzel Washington later walked him back to his front row seat.

 

Smith revealed during his acceptance speech Washington had told him 'that at his "highest moment, that's when the devil comes for you".

 

'In this business, you got to be able to have people disrespecting you. You've got to smile and pretend like that's okay,' Smith said.

 

'I want to be a vessel for love. I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena. Thank you for entrusting me with your story. That's what I want to do. I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love, and care and concern.'

 

The Academy's CEO Dawn Hudson highlighted values the Academy valued at the height of the Me Too Movement including 'fostering supportive environments, and respect for human dignity.'

 

'In addition to achieving excellence in the field of motion picture arts and sciences, members must also behave ethically by upholding the Academy's values of respect for human dignity, inclusion, and a supportive environment that fosters creativity.

 

'There is no place in the Academy for people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates recognized standards of decency. The Academy is categorically opposed to any form of abuse, harassment or discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, or nationality. The Board of Governors believes that these standards are essential to the Academy's mission and reflective of our values,' Hudson detailed in a statement as reported by Variety.

 

Legally, Smith may have got away with it. Late on Sunday night, the LAPD released a statement saying that no police report had yet been filed.

 

'LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report.

 

'If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.'

 

Many users on Twitter stated that they wanted to see Smith stripped of his Best Actor gong

 

The Academy has taken action against members in the past.

 

Disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein was stripped of his membership in the organization after he was was found guilty of decades of sexual misbehavior, including allegations of rape.

 

In 2017, Greg P. Russell, a sound mixer on 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, was been stripped of his Oscar nomination after he was caught phoning his fellow members from the Academy's Sound Branch 'to make them aware of his work on the film.

 

The calls were a 'direct violation of a campaign regulation that prohibits telephone lobbying,' a statement from the Academy said.

 

In 2014, the song Alone Yet Not Alone from the little-known film of the same name had its nomination for Best Original Song rescinded after composer Bruce Broughton, an Academy member and former governor, contacted fellow branch members by email, breaking Academy rules.

 

 GUARDIAN:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/27/will-smith-punch-chris-rock-wife-joke-gi-jane-video-oscars


( ...) “Following the ceremony, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed in a statement that it was “aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report.”

 

“If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report,” the statement concluded.

 

Shortly thereafter, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued their own statement: “The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.”



Will Smith: can his career survive – or is the Fresh Prince finished?

For three bravado-filled decades, he was box office dynamite, pulling in $9 billion. How will the star now win back the public’s esteem – and keep Hollywood onside?

 

Steve Rose

@steverose7

Mon 28 Mar 2022 17.10 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/28/oscars-and-slap-can-will-smith-career-survive-or-is-the-fresh-prince-finished

 

It is not often an actor experiences both the high point and the low point of their careers on the same night, but you can always trust Will Smith to push the boundaries of movie stardom. His win as best actor ought to have been the cherry on top of one of the most successful film careers in history – except Smith himself had already sabotaged the moment, the night, and possibly his future when he got up on stage 40 minutes earlier and slapped Chris Rock for an inappropriate joke about his wife. Smith could spend the rest of his life looking back on Sunday night as the best of times and the worst, but which one will prevail? Is Smith big enough to survive such a jarring incident – or is the Fresh Prince past his sell-by date?

 

The unique nature of both the incident and the actor have us grasping for precedent. In 2017, Casey Affleck went through the similarly awkward motions of accepting best actor Oscar, for Manchester By the Sea, even as allegations of earlier sexual harassment resurfaced, turning what should have been a huge career bounce into a damaging trial by public opinion. Affleck denied the accusation but his reputation has never really recovered. He’s a rising character actor, though. Will Smith is in a different league, arguably one of his own.

 

Richard Williams, the character Smith played in King Richard, drew up an 85-page plan for how to turn his daughters Venus and Serena into tennis champs. It worked. Similarly, in the early 1990s, Smith drew up a plan to become the biggest movie star in the world, analysing box-office numbers and movie formulas. That worked too. He has ruled Hollywood for over 30 years, his films grossing over $9 billion at the box office, and he has an estimated net worth of at least $350 million. He is one of the few actors whose name can open a movie and usually guarantee a $100m box office (King Richard has performed far below that, but then it was released simultaneously on HBO Max). Smith’s projects in the pipeline include slavery thriller Emancipation, for which Apple paid $120m for the rights, a sequel to the Netflix sci-fi Bright, a travel series with National Geographic and Bad Boys 4. Is Smith simply too big to fail?

“I don’t think anybody’s too big to fail,” says film publicist Charles McDonald. “Not in this day and age.” In recent years, entertainment figures once considered unassailable have been swiftly dethroned, McDonald points out, not least by the #MeToo movement. Harvey Weinstein was, after all, considered a fixture of the movie industry. “I don’t think it’s a question of size,” says McDonald. “I think it’s just a question of who you are, what your position is, and how you’re thought of. I think probably Will Smith can surface – if he does the right thing, in the right time.”

 

You have to show proper contrition … then behave in such a way that people don’t believe it’s going to happen again

 

There is a crisis-management protocol to situations like this, says Bumble Ward, another seasoned film publicist. “The steps are always the same. You have to show proper contrition. You have to apologise to those you’ve hurt. And then you have to behave in such a way that people don’t believe it’s going to happen again. But it has to be a proper apology. I think he did a lot of that work in his speech.”

 

During the commercial break between the actor slapping Rock and his acceptance speech, Smith’s publicist Meredith O Sullivan was spotted in discussion with Smith at his table, as was Denzel Washington. When he went up to collect his award, Smith clearly did not give the speech he’d originally planned. He cited Richard Williams as “a fierce defender of his family”. He relayed Washington’s advice to him moments earlier: “At your highest moment, be careful – that’s when the devil comes for you.” And he professed that “love will make you do crazy things”. He also apologised to the Academy and to his fellow nominees but, pointedly, not to Rock himself.

 

Another industry insider, who did not wish to be named, predicted that Smith would be making a public apology to Rock pretty soon. Rock would likely reciprocate and apologise to Jada Pinkett Smith. The event would then be swept under the red carpet as quickly as possible. That process was already under way on Sunday night. Host Amy Schumer made light of the event, saying: “Did I miss anything? There’s, like, a different vibe in here.” Presenting best actress, Anthony Hopkins also seemed ready to move on. “Will Smith said it all,” he said, to nervous laughter from the audience. “What more can be said? Let’s have peace and love and quiet.”

 

But there is quite a lot more to be said. This crisis is by no means over. The Smith brand has not looked entirely rock-solid in recent years. In fact, it has been in recovery mode. His 2016 movie Collateral Beauty, an excruciating self-help tearjerker, was the biggest flop of his career. More damaging still was 2013’s After Earth, a self-funded sci-fi movie designed to showcase the talents of the entire Smith clan: Will and Jada co-produced, Will co-wrote, and reportedly co-directed, with M Night Shyamalan. He also co-starred alongside his son, Jaden, who was parachuted into the lead role.

 

Sometimes it felt less like a film and more like an exposure of the Smith family’s weaknesses and weirdnesses, compounded by a series of bizarre interviews (the Smith children’s contemptuous comments about traditional schools made them seem out of touch) along with revelations about the Smith parents’ not-so-private life. In 2020, Will and Jada opted to air their relationship issues in public on Jada’s talk show Red Table Talk, where she spoke of their separation and her “entanglement” with another man – rapper August Alsina – as Smith nodded along.

 

At the same time, there has always been a messianic aspect to Smith’s public persona. He has self-belief and bravado in droves, from his rap career to his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in 2002, which earned him his first Oscar nomination. As last year’s memoir Will laid out, Smith has been on something of a journey lately, re-examining his childhood and his father’s abuse of his mother, but also going on ayahuasca trips in the Amazon. Smith evidently believes in his own sense of purpose, as he made clear in his Oscars speech. “In this time in my life, in this moment,” he said, “I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world. I’m being called on in my life to love people, and to protect people, and to be a river to my people.”

 

Who is actually calling upon Smith to fill this role, and is he living up to it? That is open to question. The public might easily find such pronouncements off-putting. Showbiz careers live and die by public opinion. Some are wondering if Smith’s career might now be at a tipping point. Others expect this to blow over. “I think he can survive,” says McDonald. “I think people have a great affection for him. You can’t resort to violence like that, obviously, and the language he used afterwards, despite the provocation. But I think there will be sympathy for him.”

 

Other Oscar-winners on the night might not be feeling much sympathy for Smith right now, given that his actions effectively drowned out their moments of glory. As for Smith’s own achievements, he might well have cancelled out what should have been the greatest night of his life.




Oscars condemns Will Smith slap and launches review

Published11 hours ago

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60908869?fbclid=IwAR3lebC_4oOdFznQFjrBf4fvWagQY7ACyLuemywxQln-FdCyYcwF9N8qb9A

 

The Oscars film academy has condemned Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock at Sunday's ceremony, and has launched a formal review of the incident.

 

A statement said it would "explore further action and consequences" in accordance with California law, and the body's standards of conduct.

 

Smith slapped Rock in the face on stage after the comic made a joke about the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

 

Moments later Smith won his first ever Oscar - for best actor in King Richard.

 

Rock took aim at Pinkett Smith's shaved head, a result of the hair-loss condition alopecia.

 

The incident cast a pall on what should have been Hollywood's biggest celebration and overshadowed others' achievements, one member of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences - which organises the Oscars ceremony - told the BBC.

 

"I woke up so bummed out about what Will Smith did," said the member. "To me, he stole the limelight. I don't think that was the place to be so violent. Most people were shocked. There were children there. It was a place to celebrate." She asked not to be named.

 

Monday's statement from the organisation behind the Oscars said: "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, Standards of Conduct and California law."

 

Shortly after Sunday night's incident, Smith was seen apparently being comforted by actors Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry.

 

Actor and comedian Tiffany Haddish, who co-starred with Jada Pinkett Smith in the 2017 comedy Girls Trip, described the exchange to People magazine as "the most beautiful thing I've ever seen". She said Smith had stood up for his wife.

 

However, many said Smith was wrong to use violence.

 

Marshall Herskovitz, a film producer, tweeted early on Monday morning: "I call upon the Academy, of which I am a member, to take disciplinary action against Will Smith. He disgraced our entire community tonight."

 

Roger Ross Williams, a black member of the Academy's board of governors, told the Hollywood Reporter that the confrontation drove him to tears because "it reinforces stereotypes about black people and it just hurts me to my core".

 

Actor Wendell Pierce, whose credits include HBO's The Wire and Treme, said he was hoping for "a public act of contrition" from Smith.

 

But he pointed out that Rock once produced a documentary on how black hairstyles are tied to identity.

 

"That film showed an appreciation for Jada's, and Black women's, struggle with the disease of alopecia. The joke did not. It insulted and provoked," he wrote on Twitter.

 

On social media, some users suggested Smith's actions could have violated the Academy's code of conduct and wondered whether Smith would be asked to return his award for Best Actor, which he collected onstage shortly after slapping Rock.

 

The code states the Academy is "categorically opposed to any form of abuse, harassment or discrimination", including members acting "in a manner that violates standards of decency".

 

It also reserves the right for the Academy board to suspend or expel those in violation of the code.

 

However, Hollywood insiders like actor Whoopi Goldberg have said it is unlikely Smith will lose his award.

 

"We're not going to take that Oscar from him," she predicted. "There will be consequences I'm sure, but I don't think that's what they're going to do."

 

Smith earned the award - his first - for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, in the film King Richard.

 

In a tearful acceptance speech, he apologised to his fellow nominees - but not to Rock - and said "love will make you do crazy things".

 

His wife has previously described hair loss due to her autoimmune disease as "terrifying".

 

She looked unamused when Rock quipped to her: "Jada, can't wait for GI Jane 2," in an apparent reference to her shaved head and a 1997 film in which the titular character sports a buzz cut.

 

Moments later, Smith walked on stage and struck Rock before returning to his seat and shouting: "Keep my wife's name out of your [expletive] mouth."

 

Comic Kathy Griffin said the slap sets a dangerous precedent.

 

"Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theatres," she wrote.

 

Rock declined to press charges and has not commented publicly about the slap.

 

In the moments after the altercation, he quipped that it was probably "the greatest night in the history of television", before presenting the award for best documentary.

 

With reporting from Regan Morris in Los Angeles


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