Will Smith is under formal review after he walked on stage during the 94th Academy Awards show and slapped Chris Rock in the face after Rock cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss.
“The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show,” a spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences shared, according to a report from Variety that was published Monday.
“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 statement added.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched a formal review following Will Smith’s assault on Chris Rock at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony. https://t.co/WGTpL1oBxP pic.twitter.com/l9vk8LqC9k
— Variety (@Variety) March 28, 2022
As previously reported by the Daily Wire, the Academy initially said it didn’t condone “violence of any form” without specifically naming the “Men In Black” star.
The Academy Awards condemned “violence of any form” after Will Smith struck Chris Rock in the face for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at the 94th annual awards show.
“The Academy does not condone violence of any form,” The Academy tweeted. “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
As the Daily Wire reported:
During a segment at the Oscars, the 57-year-old comedian remarked about how no one was wearing a mask in the theater before he turned his attention to Denzel Washington and praised him for his part in the movie “The Tragedy of MacBeth.” The superstar comedian then spotted Will Smith’s wife in the audicen and cracked a joke about how Jada was going to be in the next “G.I. Jane” movie.
“Jada, I love ya,” Rock said. “G.I. Jane 2 movie, can’t wait to see it.”
Smith then got up from his seat and struck Rock in the face.
“Oh wow, wow. Will Smith just smacked the s*** outta me,” Rock said.
Smith then repeatedly shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!”
“Wow, dude,” Rock replied. “It was a G.I. Jane joke.”
Later in the show, Smith accepted his first Oscar ever for Best Actor for his role in the film “King Richard.” During his acceptance speech, he apologized to the Academy and to the other nominees, but didn’t appear to apologize to Rock.
“I want to apologize to the Academy,” Smith said. “I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment, and I’m not — I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me. It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people. ”
“Art imitates life,” he added. “I looked like the crazy father just like they said. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams, but love will make you do crazy things.”
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