The Oscars 2022 will undoubtedly be forever overshadowed by Will Smith, 53, storming on stage to hit Chris Rock, 57, after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair.
Mere moments later, the King Richard star was anointed best actor for his work on the movie about tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams’ coach father.
However, is his Oscar threatened by his angry outburst, due to its turning physical?
Speaking to The New York Post, a ‘highly placed Hollywood source’ said: ‘It’s basically assault. Everyone was just so shocked in the room, it was so uncomfortable.
‘I think Will would not want to give his Oscar back, but who knows what will happen now.’
Although as a non-nominee Smith could have faced being removed by security in the wake of the slap, at that moment in time he was still in the race for best actor against Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Garfield, Denzel Washington and Javier Bardem.
As Academy tradition dictates – and as seen by the confusion at the 2017 ceremony over Moonlight’s eventual triumph as best picture, via La La Land – only two accountants from Price Waterhouse Coopers know the winner in any category before it is announced.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as it is formally known, was obviously then placed in a tricky position as to how to move forward, without knowing who would claim one of the night’s top prizes and how things would proceed if the winner was notably absent.
Having told Rock to ‘keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth’ as he sat back down following the incident, Smith then apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees during his acceptance speech, before saying: ‘Love will make you do crazy things’.
After the ceremony, the Academy issued a statement saying it ‘does not condone violence’.
The industry body sent out a tweet, which read in full: ‘The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
‘Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.’
Although nothing has since been said by the Academy, it did roll out a new code of conduct in 2017, in the wake of the #MeToo scandal that rocked the industry, which emphasised ‘upholding the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity, inclusion, and a supportive environment that fosters creativity’.
In a letter sent to members at the time, and reported by Variety, CEO Dawn Hudson penned: ‘Academy membership is a privilege offered to only a select few within the global community of filmmakers.
‘In addition to achieving excellence in the field of motion picture arts and sciences, members must also behave ethically by upholding the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity, inclusion, and a supportive environment that fosters creativity. The Academy asks that members embrace their responsibility to affirm these principles and act when these principles are violated.’
She added: ‘There is no place in the Academy for people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates recognized standards of decency. The Academy is categorically opposed to any form of abuse, harassment or discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, or nationality. The Board of Governors believes that these standards are essential to the Academy’s mission and reflective of our values.’
As he accepted the best actor accolade, Smith broke down in tears, called the real-life Richard Williams ‘a fierce defender of his family’ and said he felt ‘overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world’, as he spoke about ‘being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people’.
He continued: ‘I want to apologise to the Academy, I want to apologise to my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award. It’s about being able to shine a light on all the people…’
‘Art imitates life, I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams,’ he laughed. ‘But love will make you do crazy things.’
Rock hasn’t pressed charges against Smith, with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) confirming no police report has yet been filed following the altercation.
‘LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards programme,’ an LAPD spokesperson told the PA news agency.
‘The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report.
‘If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.’
Meanwhile, rapper Diddy claimed that Rock and Smith settled their feud shortly after the ceremony, telling Page Six that it was ‘not a problem’ and ‘over’.
‘It’s all love. They’re brothers,’ he added.
Smith took to his Instagram following the slap to add a joke to an earlier, weirdly prophetic post about ‘choosing chaos’ as the couple showed off their outfits.
He commented: ‘You can’t invite people from Philly or Baltimore nowhere!!!’
He hails from Philadelphia while wife Jada is from Baltimore.
Plenty of celebrities also had strong reactions to the incident, from Richard Madeley branding Rock ‘the most unpleasant celebrity’ to Lorraine Kelly slamming Smith for his handling of the situation.
Tiffany Haddish called it ‘the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen’ while Nicki Minaj hailed the slap as an ‘amazing, eye-opening’ moment.
Metro.co.uk contacted the Academy for comment.
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