Will Smith May Be Asked To Return His Oscar Following The Academy’s Statement?

Was yesterday’s drama between Will Smith and Chris Rock staged? Insiders who attended the Academy Awards ceremony confirmed that it wasn’t and that Will was even comforted by Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry during the break.

The 53-year-old actor went on to win his first ever Oscar – the best actor for his role in “King Richard”. Following the tearful apology during his acceptance speech, Will also released a formal apology on his Instagram regretting that his behaviour had “stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey”.

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.

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 28, 2022

The organisation behind the Oscars said: “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.”

Many netizens online felt that Will’s physical assault could have violated the Academy’s code of conduct and wondered whether he will be asked to return his award for Best Actor, which he won shortly after the fiasco took place. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Academy’s board of governors have been called for a full meeting where they “will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law”.

During a recent episode on “The View”, Academy Award winner and previous Oscars host Whoopi Goldberg also discussed if Will’s Oscar win is in jeopardy. “We’re not going to take that Oscar from him,” she predicted. “There will be consequences I’m sure, but I don’t think that’s what they’ll be, particularly because Chris said, listen I’m not pressing any charges.”

“Not everybody acts the way we would like them to under pressure, some people just snap, he snapped. What I do want to say is I think it’s remarkable and wonderful that Chris Rock did not take it to that other place it could have gone,” she added.

Variety reports that Chris Rock’s comment about Jada Pinkett Smith was an ad-lib that was not in the script.

(https://t.co/dIOHEq9EKX) pic.twitter.com/fKC8agkMil

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) March 28, 2022

According to a Los Angeles Police Department, Chris Rock has decided against filing a police report. Another insider also remarked that Will could face a suspension but will unlikely lose his Oscar for Best Actor. As a source pointed out, “I think Will would not want to give his Oscar back, but who knows what will happen now.”

Sources: BBC, Yahoo, The Guardian.