Will Smith’s Oscar Ban: How Academy Members Feel About Decision

Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have spoken out following the board of governors’ decision to ban Will Smith from attending any Academy events for the next ten years. The Hollywood Reporter recently interviewed a “wide cross-section” of Academy members who shared their thoughts about the board’s response. On Friday, the board held a special meeting during which it decided on Smith’s punishment for slapping Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Academy Awards on March 27. 

General consensus among those surveyed was split as to whether the punishment was too harsh, weak, or reasonable. A number believed the Academy itself has a good amount of soul searching to do. Steven Scott thought Smith’s punishment was indicative of the industry’s unwillingness to condemn the A-list star. “Since he had already resigned, the Academy’s decision to temporarily — yes, temporarily — remove him means he will suffer no consequences from the Academy for his violent, unprecedented physical and verbal attack on a fellow performer, Chris Rock, for simply not liking his joke…I am disgusted by my Academy’s appallingly weak, amoral, kowtowing-to-an-A-lister response. Disgusted!” 

Actor Pat Boone expressed empathy for the global celebrity.”Have some sympathy for a man who was already uptight about his potential award, sitting with a somewhat volatile but much-loved wife, who Chris, not really knowing how serious her condition was, [joked about],” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m quite sure that Will is more regretful about his angry reaction and more self-chastising than Chris is angry…He doesn’t need to be chastised or penalized by an industry that is hardly a bastion of behavior or polite conduct….Didn’t the Oscars this year reward a film in which a young boy poisoned and killed his [relative]? Let’s skip the piety.” 

Rutanya Alda also believed the action was “too late,” and told the outlet that Smith should have been escorted out and possibly had Chris Rock accept for him. She added, “That would have been enough for me. I don’t want the drama to continue. It does not benefit the image of the Academy.” One Academy member said, “It would have been interesting to require Will Smith to attend anger management; also to bring Smith, Jada, and Chris Rock together in some kind of mediated session; and then, assuming all could be worked out, have the three of them make a statement together. They could have opened next year’s show.” 

Concerning the Academy, Chuck Braverman criticized the organization, saying, “The bigger issue than Will Smith is whether the Academy cares more about the value of the Oscar or the money from the network broadcast. Being voted on by your peers is everything…Spending large for the museum has put the Academy into a financial hole. But a physical assault is totally unacceptable. Smith’s Oscar should be revoked and returned.” 

Several anonymous Academy members placed blame at the feet of Will Packer, calling for his suspension for “going rogue.” One said he, David Rubin, and Dawn Hudson “have forever ruined the Academy’s reputation and integrity” by delivering an overly-long program “with hastily edited acceptance speeches, jammed into a horribly uneven and heartless show.” 

Last week, Smith announced he was resigning from the Academy and apologized for his actions, calling them “shocking, painful, and inexcusable. He released a brief statement Friday in response to the Academy’s decision to ban him, telling Page Six, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”