The Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscars saga continues (and perhaps concludes) with Will Smith banned from the Oscars for the next 10 years.
It began at the Oscars on 27 March when Chris Rock made fun of Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair. Smith went on stage to give Rock a slap on live television that shocked the world.
What followed was Smith’s apology, his resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and some of his movies being put in deep freeze. Today, the Academy’s 54-member board voted to ban Smith from attending the Oscars or other Academy events for the next 10 years.
This means the Best Actor award he won this year is still his. It also does not prevent Smith from winning a future Academy Award, so in the event that he does win, all that happens is that he cannot attend the show to accept the award.
Here is the statement from the Academy:
“Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards. We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances. We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast.”
Jimmy is on a never-ending quest to finish his ever-expanding library of games, but he keeps getting sidetracked by a mountain of books to read, and a trail of actual mountains he hopes to climb.
Natalie
