Nearly a year after the infamous slap that transfixed not only the Hollywood community, but also the world, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is calling its response to Will Smith’s outburst “inadequate.”
At an Oscar nominees luncheon on Monday, Academy President Janet Yang told a bevy of stars, including Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg, that the organizations’ response was lacking.
“I’m sure you all remember we experienced an unprecedented event at the Oscars … What happened onstage was wholly unacceptable and the response from our organization was inadequate,” Yang said.
When Smith stormed the stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock during last year’s telecast, the Academy had minimal reaction. It was nearly two weeks before its board of governors voted to ban Smith from the Oscars and all other academy events for 10 years. Smith had already announced his resignation as an academy member.
Will Smith took issue with Chris Rock’s joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, leading him to slap the comedian across the face. (ROBYN BECK/AFP)
‘EMANCIPATION’S’ WILL SMITH ADMITS HE ‘LOST IT’ DURING CHRIS ROCK OSCAR SLAP, WAS FULL OF ‘RAGE’
Later in the evening, Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in “King Richard.” Giving a tearful acceptance speech, Smith told the crowd, “I know to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse, you gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you, and you gotta smile and you gotta pretend like that’s OK.”
He also expressed remorse for his actions, saying, “I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to my — all my fellow nominees.”
Janet Yang addressed the Oscars Slap without naming either Will Smith or Chris Rock at the 95th Oscars Nominees Luncheon held at The Beverly Hilton. (Gilbert Flores/Variety)
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“We learned from this that the academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions,” Yang told guests at the luncheon.
“And particularly in times of crisis you must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry. You should and can expect no less form us going forward,” she added.
Will Smith is no longer a member of the academy, resigning himself as well as being banned for 10 years. (Neilson Barnard)
While presenting an award at the 94th Academy Awards, Rock made reference to Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head. The actress and Smith’s wife of over 25 years suffers from alopecia, a medical condition that causes hair loss.
Smith took issue with his joke, yelling at Rock “Keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth,” before making his way to the stage.
Smith has since apologized to Rock on several occasions, taking to his Instagram to issue a formal statement after the incident.
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He wrote in part, “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.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
