In the aftermath of what has been called the “slap heard around the world,” some are asking why actor Will Smith was not kicked out of the Oscars.
According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he refused to leave.
In a statement Wednesday, the Academy said, “Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated.”
“While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently,” it added.
The Academy also said it had begun disciplinary hearings against the actor.
During the Oscars on Sunday night, comedian Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, because of her hair.
“Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” Rock said.
As The New York Times notes, Pinkett Smith has alopecia which is a condition that leads to hair loss.
After the joke, Will Smith walked up on stage and slapped Rock.
Upon returning to his seat, he could be heard saying, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”
In case you missed it:
Chris Rock made fun of Jada and Will Smith got on stage to slap him and cursed him from his seat after. Live feed stopped on Astro because. Not scripted. Audience stunned. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/F5dN4prPfY
— ????? ??????? (@ayshardzn) March 28, 2022
On Sunday night, Will Smith won the award for best actor for his role in “King Richard.”
However, the fact he was not kicked out of the building did not go over well with some.
During an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Wednesday, Wanda Sykes — a co-host of the Oscars — said, “For them to let [Smith] stay in that room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award. I was like, ‘How gross is this? This is just the wrong message.’”
“You assault somebody, you get escorted out [of] the building, and that’s it. But for them to let him continue, I thought it was gross,” she added.
While Sykes argued that it was “gross” that Smith was not removed from the room, “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg said on Tuesday she believes racial dynamics played into the decision of letting him stay.
“The reason they didn’t go and take him out is because that would have been another 15-20 minute explanation of why we’re taking the Black man out five seconds before they’re about to decide whether he’s won an Oscar or not,” she suggested.
Smith apologized to Rock on Monday and said he was “out of line.”
And on Wednesday night, Rock told a crowd at his comedy show that he is “still kind of processing what happened.”
