announced “American Academy of Film Arts and Sciences“, the body responsible for the Oscars, on Wednesday, that it had asked the actor will Smith Leaving the Oscars following Slapped by fellow comedian Chris Rock But he refused.
The academy, whose board of directors met, Wednesday evening, confirmed that it would take “appropriate measures” regarding the issue of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during Prestigious Film Awards Ceremony.
Will Smith, who won an Oscar for Best Actor for his role in “King Richard”, took the initiative A public apology to Chris Rock It’s the academy following the fact. But many in Hollywood are calling for the award-giving academy to punish the actor for resorting to violence, which in their view has unfairly diverted attention from the evening’s other winners.
“While we wish to make clear that Smith was asked to leave the show but declined, we also understand that we might have handled the situation differently,” the academy said in a statement.
In its statement, the academy added that its board of directors began to consider “disciplinary action once morest Will Smith for violating the academy’s policies, including inappropriate physical contact, abusive or dangerous behavior, and undermining the integrity of the academy.”
A letter signed by Academy President David Rubin and Director General Dawn Hudson and addressed to thousands of members of the Academy stressed academyHowever, “the live broadcast of the 94th Academy Awards Sunday was supposed to be a celebration of the many people (…) who have done an amazing job over the past year.”
The statement indicated that the board of directors will decide during a meeting to be held on April 18 whether to take “disciplinary action” once morest the Hollywood star and what this action will be. Such action might include suspension or even expulsion of Will Smith from the Academy.
The statement added that the academy sent Smith a notice of at least 15 days, informing him that its board of directors would vote on the violations he committed and the penalties that might be imposed on him for doing so, within a deadline that would give the representative “an opportunity to be heard through a written response.”
Smith had apologized on Instagram Monday to his colleague Chris Rock for slapping him during the Oscars Sunday night for a joke in which the comedian mocked the shaven head. Jada Pinkett SmithThe Hollywood actor’s wife has alopecia areata.
“Chris, I would like to publicly apologize to you,” Smith wrote on Instagram. “What you did crossed the line and was wrong. I am ashamed, and what I did is not indicative of the man I want to be.”
Smith’s apology came in the wake of the incident, which took place live on the air and astounded the audience who were present in the hall and the spectators who watched the evening from their homes.
In his joke, Rock likened Smith’s wife’s short hair to Demi Moore’s clean-shaven head in GI Jane. It was noted that what Rock said was very upsetting to Pinkett Smith, who had previously spoken publicly regarding her hair loss due to her alopecia areata.
Although Smith at first laughed in jest, he soon went up to the stage and slapped Rock hard in the face, the sound of the slap being heard in the microphones to the amazement of the audience in the hall and the spectators who watched the evening from their homes.
“Wow. Wow. Will Smith just slapped me,” said the shocked Rock. “It was a joke regarding GI Jane,” he added, justifying his joke.
But Smith, who had returned to sit down beside his wife, replied, “Let my wife’s name out of your damn mouth!”
Since the incident, Rock has publicly kept silent regarding the slap, but broke his silence this Wednesday on stage in Boston during a sold-out concert.
At the beginning of his show, the comedian said, addressing the crowd, “How did you spend the weekend?”, noting that he had not prepared any jokes regarding the slap to be heard by the audience. “If you come to hear it, I have a full presentation I wrote before the end of last week,” Variety quoted him as telling the audience.
He added, “I’m still kind of trying to comprehend what happened,” stressing that “at some point I will talk regarding this nonsense, and it will be serious and funny.”
(France Brush)
