The Best Actor winner and Chris Rock’s assailant may have to hand his award back under Academy rules.
There’s no way, despite Will Smith’s hopes, his antics at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday are going to be swept under the red carpet. Smith has said of his behaviour that he was “out of line” and that his actions were “not indicative of the man I want to be”.
The apology
The retrospective apology came after the initial one he made in his Best Actor winning speech for King Richard (which didn’t come across as half as earnest due to the crazed look of triumph in his eyes which, granted, is to be expected after winning the biggest award in film acting). On Monday, he issued a stronger apology and account of his actions, writing on Instagram that he “reacted emotionally” to Rock’s joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has been open about her alopecia-related hair loss.
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“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” said Smith. “My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.
I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
Smith also apologised to the film academy, the production teams, audiences, and the Williams family. Smith was honored for his role as Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena. “I deeply regret that my behaviour has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress,” added Smith.
What happens next?
The Academy broadly condemned the actions shortly after the ceremony in a tweet from their official account. They will meet on Wednesday to decide what happens to Smith and his award.
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
Whoopi Goldberg, actor and member of the Academy’s board of governors, said during US talkshow The View on Monday: “We’re not going to take that Oscar from him. There will be consequences I’m sure, but I don’t think that’s what they’ll do.” It’s a statement which ultimately expresses confusion – Goldberg initially says the Academy as a collective, which includes her, aren’t going after Smith’s award, but then immediately after says she doesn’t think that’s what they will do, implying the decision’s actually not in her hands and isn’t clear-cut.
Past breaches of conduct and Academy punishments
If you haven’t already, take a look at our rundown of the most controversial moments in the history of awards ceremonies, because there’s a clue in what happened to the naughty stars afterwards that might shed light on how hard the Academy could come down on Will Smith.
In 1973, six security heavies had to restrain John Wayne when actor and activist Sacheen Littlefeather took to the stage to speak on behalf on Marlon Brando, declining his best actor award to instead speak about Native American rights, or lack thereof, in the American film industry. Obviously this is slightly different though, because Will Smith managed to lamp Chris Rock anyway.
Only five years ago, in 2017, the institution terminated the membership of Harvey Weinstein at the height of the sexual misconduct scandal surrounding the former film producer, who was later convicted on several charges. Following this, the Academy adopted a new code of conduct, saying: “There is no place in the Academy for people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates recognized standards of decency.” Did Will Smith violate standards of decency? It’s hard to argue he didn’t.
Following the new code, Roman Polanski, who was convicted of rape and sex with a minor, was stripped of his membership. So was Bill Cosby, who spent more than two years in jail convicted on sexual assault, but had his charges overturned last year. However, it is worth noting that Polanski – who won best director for The Pianist in 2003, almost 30 years after his conviction for rape – has not had his Oscar taken away from him. Nor has Weinstein had to return any of the 81 Oscars shared between his two companies: Miramax and The Weinstein Company. He has also not had to give up the one Oscar awarded to him directly: Best Picture, for his role as a producer on Shakespeare in Love. It’s feasible Will Smith could raise these double standards if the Academy decide to snatch back his gong.
I think we can all agree though that it was nice to see Smith acting humbly after the ceremony, showing real class and remorse for his actions:
Will Smith spotted entertaining guest at an afterpartypic.twitter.com/jCIrlC5Cqz
— The Quest Times (@thequesttimes) March 28, 2022
