Desk Report
Publish: 09 Apr 2022, 06:19 pm
Will Smith (R) hit Chris Rock on stage during the Oscars ceremony, after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife || Photo: Collected
Will Smith has been banned from
the Oscars gala and other Academy events for 10 years after the US actor
slapped comic Chris Rock at the ceremony.
In a statement, the Academy said
the 94th Oscars had been "overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful
behaviour we saw Mr Smith exhibit on stage".
Smith has apologised for his
actions and resigned from the Academy.
The actor hit Rock for joking
about his wife's shaved head, a result of the hair-loss condition alopecia.
Less than an hour later, he was
awarded the best actor award for his role in King Richard, where he played the
father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams.
The Academy Of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences, which organises the awards ceremony, met virtually on Friday
to discuss disciplinary action.
In a statement, it said banning
Smith was aimed at protecting performers and guests and "restoring trust
in the Academy".
The Academy said that directly
after the slap it did not "adequately address the situation in the
room" and had been "unprepared for the unprecedented". It
apologised for this.
It also thanked Rock for
"maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances".
In his resignation statement,
Smith said he had "betrayed the trust of the Academy" and was "heartbroken"
over his actions.
He added he would "fully
accept any and all consequences for my conduct".
Smith's resignation means he will
be unable to vote for future Oscars.
The Academy's disciplinary review
over the incident, originally scheduled for 18 April, was fast-tracked after he
resigned.
Few have ever stepped down from
the Academy. Four members - producer Harvey Weinstein, actor Bill Cosby,
director Roman Polanski and cinematographer Adam Kimmel - have been booted over
sexual misconduct allegations, while actor Carmine Caridi was expelled in 2004
for pirating screener videos given to him.
But the standards of conduct laid
out by the film academy contained various disciplinary options for Smith, such
as excluding him from future Oscars ceremonies, revoking his eligibility for
awards or taking back his newly won Oscar.
Only one Oscar has ever been
taken back; a feature called Young Americans won the best documentary honour in
1969 but was found to be ineligible for the award that year.
Late last month, actor Whoopi
Goldberg - a member of the Academy's board of governors - predicted Smith would
face "big consequences" but said "we're not going to take that
Oscar away from him."
Beyond the Academy's actions, at
least two studios - Sony and Netflix - are pausing their projects with Smith.
Rock, who began his latest stand-up
comedy tour shortly after the Oscars telecast, has not commented publicly on
the slap.
He told fans at a show last month
that he is "still kind of processing what happened" and will talk
about the incident "at some point".
Subscribe Shampratik Deshkal Youtube Channel
Topic : Will Smith Chris Rock Oscars gala Oscars Hollywood
© 2024 Shampratik Deshkal All Rights Reserved. Design & Developed By Root Soft Bangladesh