The Academy Claims They Asked Will Smith to Leave After Slapping Chris Rock, but...Did They?
Will Smith was asked to leave the Oscars after the infamous slap, but the performer stayed, went on stage, and accepted his award for Best Actor.
The Academy has come out saying that they asked Will Smith to leave the awards show after he hit Chris Rock and yelled profanities at him. Apparently, the actor refused, and remained to receive his award. News that the academy had asked him to leave surfaced only recently it. Word came out last night, days after the event and after the Academy released a statement saying they do not condone violence.
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
It was an incredibly strange night all around. Apparently, according to an article on Vanity Fair, the publication pointed out that the vibe of the entire night had been off even before Smith's hand made contact with comedian Chris Rock's face. They wrote:
"There just wasn't much of a sense of occasion tonight. In order for these ultimately frivolous awards to seem meaningful, they need to be surrounded, and presented, with more pomp. We need the nervous pauses, the corny introductions, the cuts to mega-stars in the audience reacting with amusement or somber acknowledgment, the swelling orchestra. Hell, we need the stage raised higher above the audience, so that they may gaze up in wonderment (faked or not) just as we are meant to at home. "
Awards shows are like a cartoon character that runs off a cliff: they seemingly manage to run on air but, if they look down, they realize there is nothing beneath them. They fall with no hope of return. While awards shows are fun (who hasn't practiced their acceptance speech in the mirror?), the crack in the opulent facade we saw on Sunday reflected back a murky reality that stars such as Seth Rogan have been pointing to for a while: what is happening here? Without the immaculate manufacturing of perfection, the awkwardness of the night shines through.
What will this say about the future of awards shows going forward? Who knows. All we can say for certain, that this year is definitely one for the books.
