After Will Smith slapped the presenter Chris Rock on stage, the Academy has issued a statement about the incident.
As per the tweet posted on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences account, the Academy has said it doesn’t condone violence in any form.
The slapping incident happened when presenter Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
The Academy’s tweet tried to refocus the attention of the audience to other parts of the event. But it was not an easy thing for them to do in the Oscar-obsessed entertainment industry.
The producer of The Last Samurai, Marshall Herskovitz, wanted the Academy to do more than merely issue a statement.
“I appeal to the Academy, of which I am a member, to take punitive action against Will Smith. He besmirched our entire community tonight.”
For his part, the celebrity Chris Rock has decided not to report the incident to the cops for now. Smith will not be charged with assault because the contact was accidental, according to reports. Smith will not face six months in prison or a $100,000 fine if he is found guilty of this charge.
After the incident, Deadline can reveal that Smith did not go backstage to make a statement (beyond his speech) or answer questions from journalists.