The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has released a new statement
- Sunday night the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences released a statement condemning violence, but this new one states they are now opening an official review.
- 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.
“We’re not going to take that Oscar from him,” said actress Whoopi Goldberg, who serves on the Academy’s Board of Directors, said Monday. “There will be consequences, I’m sure.”
From Yahoo.com:
Oscar producers considered escorting Smith off the premises before his Best Actor category was announced. During the 2:30 p.m. ET on-air broadcast of CNN, entertainment reporter Chloe Melas said that on a Zoom for Academy members this morning, “People were upset the Academy released the statement they did last night about not condoning violence and saying nothing else. Others said they think this will blow over.”
PEOPLE reported that there were a lot of “bifurcated opinions weighing in on what had just happened and what was the best and quickest course of action.”
A source stated that people on the scene were “checking that Chris Rock was okay” following the incident.
“Basically there were just minutes to first figure out if it was a stunt and then try and get people on the same page — including the producers, ABC, the Academy, reps who were not all in the same place or all looking at their phones in real time, and even to see if Chris wanted to press charges,” the source explained. “You can’t plan for something like this and make a split-second decision that needs everyone’s buy-in, and in any iteration that would have consequences.
Variety further added that a quick meeting of Academy leadership did convene at the Loews Hotel, where the Governors Ball was to take place. The determination at that meeting was that there was nothing in the existing bylaws to address a situation like this. By that point, Smith had already been presented with his Oscar.
The source added that “having Will removed was definitely discussed seriously.”
Will Smith did publish this apology to Chris Rock on Instagram on Monday:
Susan Saunders 3/29/22
