Will Smith’s Academy Awards meltdown is still too unbelievable to believe.
Slapping Chris Rock on stage has caused ripple effects throughout the industry.
Now Smith made one shocking announcement after what he did at the Oscars.
Will Smith’s “slap heard ‘round the world” has turned out to be a disaster for the actor.
Soon after the incident, Smith was allowed to give a speech after winning the Oscar for Best Actor, but the high of that moment didn’t last.
The backlash to Smith’s actions were swift and severe.
Actor and comedian Jim Carrey said he was “sickened” by the incident and said he would have sued Smith for $200 million.
The Academy Awards is grappling with what disciplinary action to take, which prompted to resign from the organization.
From Variety:
“Will Smith, facing possible expulsion or suspension after he assaulted Chris Rock during last Sunday’s Oscars telecast, has instead resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. The move comes as the actor is embroiled in the gravest crisis of his career and as the organization behind the Academy Awards has struggled in its attempts to deal with the fallout from the altercation.”
Smith is lucky that the Los Angeles Police Department didn’t arrest him.
Chris Rock chose not to press charges, which allowed for Smith not to have his night ruined.
Will Packer, the man who produced the Oscars, said in an interview:
“They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment. They said, ‘We will go get him. We are prepared. We’re prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him…They were laying out the options. And as they were talking, Chris was — he was being very dismissive of those options. He was like, ‘No, no, no, I’m fine.’ And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish.’ The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action?’ And he said no. He said no.”
During his acceptance speech, Smith apologized to the Academy and the other nominees for making a spectacle, but he did not apologize to Rock.
A day later, he finally apologized to the comedian in a statement.
David Rubin, president of the Academy, said of Smith’s resignation:
“We have received and accepted Mr. Will Smith’s immediate resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18.”
Smith has spent years burnishing his image as one of the most likable stars in Hollywood, and he jeopardized that in one shocking moment at the Oscars.
His reputation may never be the same, all because he couldn’t take a mild joke.