After the “slap heard ’round the world” at the Academy Awards, a new report says actor Will Smith “may be asked to hand back his best actor” award.
“Industry insiders” told the New York Post that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences “has strict guidelines in its code of conduct,” and Smith may have violated those.
“One highly placed Hollywood source told The Post after the incident: ‘It’s basically assault. Everyone was just so shocked in the room, it was so uncomfortable. I think Will would not want to give his Oscar back, but who knows what will happen now,” the insider told the paper.
The code of conduct, “released back in 2017 in the wake of the sexual misconduct scandal that hit the industry, emphasizes the importance of ‘upholding the Academy’s values,’ like inclusion, fostering supportive environments, and ‘respect for human dignity,'” the Post said.
The Academy’s CEO at the time, Dawn Hudson, wrote to members: “Academy membership is a privilege offered to only a select few within the global community of filmmakers,” Variety reported.
The Academy has not directly commented on the incident, but did take to Twitter to say: “The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.”
The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 28, 2022
On Sunday, Rock was on the stage at the 94th Academy Awards, cracking wise about all the celebrities in the star-studded theater. Then he got to Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
“Jada, I love you, G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it. All right?” Rock said. The joke was a reference to a movie that starred Demi Moore as a Navy lieutenant in which the actress sports a shaved head. Jada Pinkett Smith, too, has a shaved head, because she suffers from alopecia.
While she rolled her eyes a bit and didn’t laugh, her husband guffawed heartily, a big smile on his face. “That was a nice one, OK?” Rock said.
“I’m out here –” Rock then said before breaking off. “Uh oh. Richard?” he said, referring to Will Smith’s part playing the father of Serena and Venus Williams’ father in “King Richard.”
Smith strode onto the stage a took a swipe at Rock, not with a fist but an open hand.
“Oh wow,” Rock said. “Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me,” he said.
Smith then yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”
“Wow, dude,” Rock replied. “It was a G.I. Jane joke.”
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.