On Friday, the 54-member board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will decide whether to strip Best Actor winner Will Smith of his Oscar after the infamous incident at the ceremony where he slapped comedian Chris Rock, and according to one source within the Academy, not only are the 9,000 members of the Academy itself seriously split on the issue, but the board also is disunited about the decision.
The source told The Sun of the 9,000 Academy members:
There have been at least two different Zoom and conference calls with various members, and specific governors over the past ten days.
The decision was made earlier this week to expedite the hearing in the wake of Will’s resignation, and during that call it was clear that the decision would go to the wire.
The members — of which there are over 9,000, with hundreds of WhatsApp groups flying about — are completely split.
The source stated, “The governors themselves are also said to be in disagreement,” but added, “Given, though, that convicted sexual predator Harvey Weinstein and fugitive child rapist Roman Polanski haven’t been stripped of their gongs, the general consensus is that it would be madness and rank hypocrisy to take such a stand now.”
“But, as we all know, Hollywood is a law unto itself, frankly,” the source concluded.
This week, Academy president David Rubin issued a letter which stated:
Dear Fellow Governors, I am calling a board meeting for this Friday morning, April 8, at 9:00 am PT, rather than the previously scheduled April 18 meeting, to address possible sanctions for Will Smith in response to his actions during the Oscars broadcast on March 27.
The April 18 date was set in accordance with California law and our Standards of Conduct because our agenda included possible suspension or expulsion of Mr. Smith from membership. We were required to provide Mr. Smith notice 15 days prior to the board meeting at which such action might be taken, and also give him the opportunity to provide the board a written statement no less than five days prior to that meeting.
“Following Mr. Smith’s resignation of his Academy membership on Friday, April 1, suspension or expulsion are no longer a possibility and the legally prescribed timetable no longer applies,” he continued. “It is in the best interest of all involved for this to be handled in a timely fashion. Thank you for arranging to assemble on Friday morning at 9:00 am PT. Zoom details will follow soon.”
The only time an Oscar was never taken back by the Academy occurred in 1969 after the Academy discovered that 1968 Oscar-winning documentary “Young Americans” had been released in 1967.