Will Smith (R) hits Chris Rock as Rock spoke on stage during the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 27, 2022. (REUTERS)
LOS ANGELES – Hollywood’s film academy has started a process that could lead to discipline against best actor winner Will Smith for slapping comedian Chris Rock on stage at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony, the group said on Wednesday.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also said Smith had been asked to leave after the incident but refused.
“Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” the academy said in a statement. “We also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.”
The group said action may be taken at its next board meeting on April 18. That may include “suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions,” the statement said.
During the live Oscars telecast, Smith strode up to the stage after Rock made a joke about the appearance of Smith’s wife, then smacked the comedian’s face. The actor returned to his seat and twice yelled an obscenity at Rock.
Rock regained his composure and announced the winner of best documentary, Questlove’s “Summer of Soul.”
Earlier Wednesday, Oscars co-hosts Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes said they were sickened by the turn of events at the film industry’s highest honors.
“Still triggered and traumatized,” Schumer said in a post on Instagram three days later. “I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro. Stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend @questlove and the whole thing was so disturbing.”
Co-host Amy Schumer speaks to the audience at the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 27, 2022. (REUTERS)
“So much pain in @willsmith anyway I’m still in shock and stunned and sad,” she added. “Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed.”
Sykes also said the incident was “sickening” and that she felt physically ill at the time. “I’m still a little traumatized,” Sykes said in clips released on Wednesday from an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres talk show.
Less than an hour after his attack on Rock, Smith won best actor for his role in “King Richard” as the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams. He gave a tear-filled acceptance speech in which he apologized to the academy and his fellow nominees, but not Rock.
Sykes said she felt Smith should have been escorted out and not permitted to accept his award.
“For them to let him 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,” she said.
The clash with Rock overshadowed the night’s awards, in which heartwarming movie “CODA” won best picture. Schumer and Sykes co-hosted the ceremony with Regina Hall.
Smith apologized to Rock and others in a statement on Monday, saying he “reacted emotionally” to the joke about his wife, actor and talk show host Jada Pinkett Smith.
Rock had referenced the 1997 film “G.I. Jane” in which actress Demi Moore shaved her head. It was unclear whether Rock was aware that Pinkett Smith has a disease that causes hair loss.