Will Smith hit Chris Rock on stage during the Oscars.
Los Angeles:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday it was starting a “formal review” of the shocking moment Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars.
Smith – who won the Best Actor award – marched on stage during a show that was broadcast around the world and hit The Rock over a joke about the star’s wife, in an incident that overshadowed the glittering ceremony.
“The Academy condemns Mr Smith’s actions on last night’s show,” the academy said in a statement to AFP.
“We have officially begun a formal review of the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct, and California law.”
Celebrities in Tinseltown and beyond reacted to Smith’s outburst with shock and stunned amazement, with some defending him and others condemning his “toxic masculinity.”
The 94th Academy Awards were in their final stages when actor and comedian The Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, starring in “G.I. Gen 2” – apparently making fun of her shaved head. Was.
Pinkett Smith, who suffered from alopecia, did not laugh, and her husband, 53, walked on stage, hitting the rock with an open hand, before returning to his seat.
Smith apologized in tears to his fellow nominees and the Academy — but not The Rock — minutes later when he accepted the Best Actor Oscar for “King Richard.”
“Love will drive you crazy,” he said.
The stunned expressions of celebrities in the room — like Lupita Nyong’o, who sat nearby — immediately became meme fodder, while stars outside the auditorium immediately condemned Smith.
Filmmaker Judd Apatow said in a later deleted tweet, “He could have killed her. This is completely out of control anger and violence.”
“Spinal Tap” director Rob Reiner rejected Smith’s apology, calling on the star to personally show remorse for The Rock and saying the “Fresh Prince” star “lucky Chris is not filing assault charges.” “
“Stand-up comics are very adept at handling hecklers. Violent physical assault… not so much,” said “Star Wars” icon Mark Hamill.
“Narcissistic Madman”
The comedy world was quick to rally in favor of The Rock, complaining that Smith’s outburst could incite coping behavior, endangering other stand-ups.
Emmy Award winner Rosie O’Donnell called it a “tragic display of a narcissistically toxic masculinity”, while Kathy Griffin said: “Now all we have to worry about is who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theatres. Is. “
Booker Prize-winning author Bernadine Evaristo suggested that Smith had not only ruined what should have been his greatest victory, but had also ruined his legacy.
“Only the fifth black man in nearly 100 years to win an Oscar for male lead, and the first in 16 years, resorts to violence rather than using the power of words to kill Chris Rock. He then claims that God and love have made him do that,” he said.
Smith, who rose to fame in the 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” has a history of animosity with The Rock going back several years, as the comedian lashed out at Pinkett Smith over the couple’s boycott of the 2016 Oscars. Took a verbal swing.
After the party, Smith walked from the Oscars to Vanity Fair, where he and his family posed for photos.
Inside, they were filmed dancing and singing along to their 1991 smash “Summertime.”
Business title Variety reported that when asked how he was after their eventful evening, Smith replied: “It’s all love.”
There was no immediate formal response from Smith or his representatives, though the actor appeared to address the controversy on Instagram.
Smith commented on his pre-Oscars post – a video of him and Pinkett Smith titled “All ready to choose chaos” – adding: “You can’t invite people from Philly or Baltimore anywhere. Can !!”
Smith is from Philadelphia, and Pinkett Smith is from Baltimore.
Some celebrities came to Smith’s defense, with singer Nicki Minaj saying that Smith was aware of Pinkett Smith’s pain, as was her husband.
He tweeted, “You got to see in real time what happens in a man’s soul when he looks at the woman he loves and sees her tearing up a ‘little joke’ at his expense is,” she tweeted.
“It’s what anyone and every real man feels at that moment. When you’re watching the joke he’s seeing his pain.”
Some social media users demanded that Smith take away his Oscar, but Academy Governor and Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg said that would not happen.
“We’re not going to take that Oscar from him,” she said on the daytime TV show “The View.”
“I’m sure there will be consequences, but I don’t think they’re going to do it, especially because Chris [Rock] Said, ‘Listen, I’m not making any allegations.'”