Five days after Will Smith ruined the Oscars by slapping Chris Rock over a stupid joke, he has had made a decision about his future with the Academy. The disgraced actor sent a letter to AMPAS and has resigned as a member.
I have directly responded to the Academy’s disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home. I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate.
Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.
I wonder what finally made him decide to do it. Was it the interviews and comments by the people who worked on the show where they claim he traumatized them? All that Chris Rock did to save his ass on Sunday night, and how Rock has taken the high road when he performed live this week? Or did he realize there is no way to come back after Sunday unless he starts showing some humility?
The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences has broken their silence about Sunday’s incident with Will Smith slapping Chris Rock and what Smith’s future might be with them.
However, the biggest reveal is that Smith was asked to leave the Oscars but refused to do so.
The Board of Governors today initiated disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, including inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the Academy.
Consistent with the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, as well as California law, Mr. Smith is being provided at least 15 days’ notice of a vote regarding his violations and sanctions, and the opportunity to be heard beforehand by means of a written response. At the next board meeting on April 18, the Academy may take any disciplinary action, which may include suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions permitted by the Bylaws and Standards of Conduct.
Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television. Mr. Rock, we apologize to you for what you experienced on our stage and thank you for your resilience in that moment. We also apologize to our nominees, guests and viewers for what transpired during what should have been a celebratory event.
Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated. While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.
This makes Smith look even worse and more of a dick.
Could the Academy have done better? Yes. But, if Smith was refusing to leave, calling in security to physically remove him would have disrupted the live show.
They would have had to stop the ceremony and caused an unknown delay to the viewers at home. And who knows how Smith would’ve reacted? He was already violent that night. He could have been worse.
This new fact convinces me even more so that he should hand back his statuette and be expelled from AMPAS.
Before Will Smith was using his fists over his words, he was telling people to do the opposite with The More You Know. Too bad he didn’t listen to his 23-year-old self from 1992 on Sunday at the Oscars.
Wanda Sykes is going to be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 7th, but she taped her appearance yesterday. The first question Ellen asked her was about the slap heard around the world at the Oscars.
Sykes told the host she was preparing to do a costume change when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, so she didn’t see it happen. However, everyone backstage was in shock and could not believe what had just transpired, including the Oscars host.
Sykes said when she was shown what happened, she said she “just felt so awful for my friend Chris. And it was sickening, absolutely sickening. I physically felt ill, and I’m still a little traumatized by it.”
She was also sickened by the fact that the Academy let Smith stay at the Oscars and accept his award for Best Actor. She thought, “how gross is this. This is the wrong message.”
Had AMPAS made the correct decision to kick him out, Sykes would’ve joked, “Will couldn’t be here tonight…”
Then Sykes added that she thinks Smith owes her, Amy Schumer, and Regina Hall an apology because the three of them “worked really hard to put that show together.” And with in less than one minute, he destroyed everything that they did that night.
While Smith did not apologize to her, Rock did. Sykes says that she saw Rock at a party, and “the first thing he said was, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I am like, ‘Why are you apologizing?’ He’s like, ‘It was supposed to be your night. You, and Amy and Regina, y’all were doing such a great job; I’m so sorry this is now going to be about this.’ Because that’s who Chris is.”
Syke’s cohost Schumer also weighed in with, “Still triggered and traumatized. I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro. Stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend @questlove and the whole thing was so disturbing. So much pain in @willsmith anyway I’m still in shock and stunned and sad. Im proud of myself and my cohosts. But yeah. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed.”
When Smith comes out of hiding, he is going to need to do a lot of apologizing, along with soul searching. I hope he is doing the latter because he has rightfully burned a lot of bridges.
Yesterday, Will Smith’s (publicist) apologized for slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday night. Rock told a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s bald head and compared her to GI Jane. I am assuming he didn’t know that she suffers from alopecia. I didn’t know it, did you know it?
Anyways, the comedian released an apology through A Woman’s Soul to the couple. He said, “As a comedian it can be difficult to understand which lines are to be crossed and which ones aren’t. Last night I crossed a line that I shouldn’t have and paid the enormous price of my reputation as a renown comedian. Comedy is never about poking fun at or making lite of people with major ordeals happening in their lives. Comedy is about using real life circumstances to create laughter and bring light to an otherwise dark world. With that said, I sincerely apologize to my friends Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will Smith, and the rest of the Smith family for the disrespect and disregard I displayed which was unfortunately broadcast for the world to see. I hope that, with time, forgiveness can come of this situation and we can all be better, more considerate people in the end.”
There were worse jokes told at the Oscars, and the Smiths handled it completely wrong. Smith should have used his words and not his hand to let Rock know how he felt.
If both men were smart and Comedy Central was brilliant, they would do a Roast for Will and Jada and have Rock serve as the Roastmaster. It helped to make Donald Trump president and Charlie Sheem almost respectable again. It would be ratings gold. Plus, it would teach Will and Jada how to take a joke, something neither one have been good at.
