Academy launches formal review after Will Smith slaps Chris Rock on the Oscars stage

[iemanja]

Chris Rock declined to file a police report Sunday after Will Smith slapped him onstage at the Academy Awards, Los Angeles police appeared to confirm.

But now the Academy says it will investigate on its own, releasing a statement Monday afternoon: "The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night's show. 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." . . .

Can the Academy rescind Will Smith's Oscar?
It's unlikely, Solomon says, although that would depend on the contractual terms and conditions of its awards process. . . .

So far, the Academy has not rescinded director Roman Polanski's 2003 Oscar for "The Pianist," although it expelled him from the Academy in 2018, decades after he pleaded guilty to statutory rape in a plea bargain in the late 1970s and fled the country.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/03/28/oscars-chris-rock-will-smith-police/7189129001/

[Goonch]

1. HUBRIS?

[Orrex]

2. I've seen a lot of people defending or praising Smith here and elsewhere

Perhaps some of these legal scholars should contact The Academy to explain why Smith is the real victim in all of this.

[obamanut2012]

3. Seriously

[uponit7771]

10. Smiths wife was compared to a beuatiful shero and he's "the victim" ?! REALLY ?!

[Sympthsical]

14. You've also missed the bit where she's disabled

No, seriously. People are saying that.

I'd like these people to meet . . . anyone else in the world who is disabled.

[C_U_L8R]

4. They were cowards to not escort him out.

Regardless of how awful Rock's 'joke' was, any other violent
person would be instantly shown the way out of there.
The Academy of course knew Smith was about be awarded an Oscar
and apparently didn't want the embarrassment of an empty seat.
Quite a pickle. They seemed to choose vanity over integrity.

[Orrex]

5. I still can't believe that they didn't give him the statue for Hitch.

[exboyfil]

11. And lost a golden opportunity for some relevancy

Let it die I say.

[uponit7771]

16. +1, if either of us had smacked a person we'd be sent straight to jail

[LexVegas]

6. Smith is a cuck not a criminal. nt

[iemanja]

7. That's crude

You should delete it.

[lisa58]

8. Assault is a crime ...

Jada and Will need to re-evaluate their co-dependency

[LexVegas]

9. I agree somewhat but I think Smith is mentally unwell. nt

[exboyfil]

12. I am sure he formed mens rea

actually him pulling the lap was a demonstration of that.

My daughter has a whole floor of mental patients. Only a couple at a time are ever violent. She is offended by the belief that mental health issues = violence.

I think he is criminally liable for his behavior. Without Rock's willingness to file a complaint he won't be prosecuted for what he did, but it still was a misdemeanor assault and battery.

[Tree-Hugger]

15. Cuck?

That's right-wing incel speak. You should delete.

[eShirl]

13. He needs lots of anger management therapy

imo

[dixiechiken1]

17. "To hide the coward': how Will Smith's personal history may explain his Oscars violence

In his autobiography, published in November 2021, the actor describes at length the appalling domestic violence he and his three siblings witnessed his father, William, inflict on his mother, Caroline.

"When I was nine years old, I watched my father punch my mother in the side of the head so hard that she collapsed,” he wrote. “I saw her spit blood. That moment in that bedroom, probably more than any other moment in my life, has defined who I am.”

...

Smith’s parents separated when he was a teenager and divorced in 2000. The actor maintained a close relationship with his father but says his hatred resurfaced when his father had cancer and was using a wheelchair. When Smith was caring for him, he said he considered killing his father.

"As a child, I’d always told myself that I would one day avenge my mother,” he wrote. “I paused at the top of the stairs. I could shove him down and easily get away with it. Thank God we’re judged by our actions and not our trauma-driven, inner outbursts.” [bold mine]

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/28/will-smith-abusive-childhood-chris-rock-oscars

The article also mentions how, right before he was cast in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, he was arrested related to an alleged assault on his record promoter. "He was charged with aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, but all charges were later dismissed."

So, WELL DONE, Will Smith. In trying to compensate for the violence in your childhood, you have become like your father.

Get help.