Things moved pretty fast at The Oscars on Sunday night, and it seems like The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is still trying to catch up. According to a report by In Touch Weekly, Will Smith might have his trophy taken away and his Best Actor award revoked due to his confrontation with Chris Rock in the middle of the show. It’s unclear how the Academy would proceed after such an unprecedented move.
Rock was cracking jokes and presenting an award on Sunday night when he made a reference to Jada Pinkett Smith’s hairstyle — a style she chose due to her struggle with alopecia — that seemed to make her husband laugh at first. However, Smith soon stood up and walked onto the stage, where he slapped Rock forcefully on live TV. He returned to his seat where he screamed admonishments at Rock for the joke. Baffled, Rock simply continued his presentation and the rest of the show went on as scripted. Smith was even given the award for Best Actor a short while later, but that may not last long.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The Academy released a statement later in the night reading: “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.”
The Academy has a strict code of conduct which was updated in December of 2017 during the Me Too movement, so most members are pretty familiar with it. It states that members must behave ethically to uphold the Academy’s “values of respect for human dignity, inclusion and a supportive environment that fosters creativity.”
Commenters online think that Smith violated this code of conduct pretty clearly on Sunday, as the Academy claims it “does not condone violence of any form.” However, many are also angry at the Academy for failing to respond to Smith in the moment and allowing him to go on through the night – even giving him a prolonged acceptance speech for his award.
If Smith’s award is taken away that may be too little, too late for some fans. Meanwhile, it will certainly be unpopular with Smith’s defenders. The Academy’s most reasonable course might be to do nothing, but even that comes with its risks.
Legally speaking, Smith seems to be in the clear since Rock reportedly told the LAPD he does not intend to press charges. In his acceptance speech, Smith said: “I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees.” Fans noted that he did not apologize to Rock, so it’s not clear where things stand between the two performers.
