The Academy Awards are known for holding their own amount of controversy with some rather surprising moments almost every year. But this year, things were taken a bit too far when something absolutely shocking ended up happening during the live event. Viewers got to witness Will Smith get on stage and slap Chirs Rock for making a joke about his wife. Initially considered to be a joke, it turned out that Smith was actually furious and did it outrageously. Over the past few weeks, there have been a lot of talks about how the Academy will respond to this. Will Smith banned from the Oscars for the next 10 years for slapping Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards.
94th Academy Awards
Remember the time when the Academy Awards went haywire as the wrong title for the movie was announced during the Best Picture moment. It had to be the most cringeworthy moment as the team for La La Land went on stage to receive the Oscar supposed to be presented to Moonlight. The event is something quite important for fans all over the world and it is watched by a large number of people. It is often considered that the Academy will do some random stunt in order to gain more viewers every year. This year, things took a completely different turn and if it’s a stunt, it is probably the smartest one ever pulled off.
Comedian Chris Rock has hosted the Oscars quite a few times over the years and he is known for roasting celebrities. This year he went on stage to present the award for Best Documentary and went on with his usual style of jokes. He made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head by stating it must be in preparation for a sequel to G.I. Jane. While her husband and Best Actor Oscar-nominee Will Smith laughed at the joke first, he wasn’t pleased with it. While Rock continued with his material, Smith went on stage and slapped Rock on the face without a single word. This came as an absolute shock to the viewers considering it became quite clear that this wasn’t a joke as Smith went on to shout at Rock later.
Will Smith Banned From Oscars
Over the past few weeks, following the event, there have been a lot of talks about how people will react to this move from Smith. People have been saying their own versions of punishments for both Rock and Smith even though most of them were targeted at the latter. The Academy had made it clear that they are deciding how they will react to the controversial moment and it seems they have finally reached their verdict. According to Deadline, it has been announced that Will Smith is banned from the Oscars for the next 10 years. This punishment comes from the AMPAS Board of Governers and Will Smith cannot attend any event associated with the Academy Awards.
The Board was supposed to make them sit for making the decision on April 18th but it was moved earlier to act more quickly. This ban for Will Smith will last till April 8, 2032. This makes Will Smith the fifth person in history to be banned from the Oscars. The other names in this list include producer Harvey Weinstein, comedian Bill Cosby, director Roman Polanski, and cinematographer Adam Kimmel. It is quite bad to see Will Smith’s name being associated with them, considering they were all banned because of sexual assault charges against them.
It seems quite fair considering this won’t prevent the actor from getting nominated or winning an Oscar. But one the other hand, Hollywood has already put some of the Will Smith projects on the back burner following the incident while some other projects have already finished filming. The actor has asked for forgiveness for his actions and it would be interesting to see if he has anything to say regarding this verdict. This doesn’t change the fact that the 94th Academy Awards will now be remembered for the incident of Smith slapping Chris Rock instead of some major wins that took place.
Will Smith banned from the Oscars for the next 10 years, what are your thoughts on it? tell us in the comments section.
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