Tag: Oscars 2022

  • Chris Rock on Will Smith slap at Oscars 2022: I’m not a victim

    While Rock had previously addressed the incident that was aired live across the world from the 2022 Academy Awards stage, this was his most direct response to the controversy yet.

  • Jada Pinkett Smith speaks on Oscars slapgate

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Jada Pinkett Smith wants her husband Will Smith and comic artiste Chris Rock to reconcile after the infamous slapgate incident that happened during the 94th Academy Awards.The actress-talk show host spoke about the two of them in detail on the June 1 episode of her Facebook series ‘Red Table Talk’, reports ‘Variety’.The actor previously commented on the situation courtesy of a meme that read: “This is a season for healing. And I’m here for it.”As per ‘Variety’, Pinkett Smith decided to address the slap on ‘Red Table Talk’ because the episode tackled alopecia. Smith slapped Rock on the Oscars stage for joking about Pinkett Smith’s bald head, which she shaved because of her own battle with alopecia.As quoted by ‘Variety’, Jada opened the episode by saying, “This is a really important ‘Red Table Talk’ on alopecia. Considering what I’ve been through with my own health and what happened at the Oscars, thousands have reached out to me with their stories. I’m using this moment to give our alopecia family an opportunity to talk about what it’s like to have this condition and to inform people about what alopecia actually is.”Addressing the incident, she further said, “Now about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile. The state of the world today, we need them both. And we all actually need one another more than ever. Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and that’s keep figuring out this thing called life together. Thank you for listening.”

    The Academy has suspended Smith from its membership for 10 years because of his violent actions at the Oscars. Rock has yet to publicly address the slap in detail outside of making brief jokes about it on his current stand-up tour. Will Smith resigned from the Academy ahead of the suspension announcement.

  • Will Smith responds to Academy’s 10-year ban after 2022 Oscars slap incident

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Actor Will Smith has responded to being banned from Academy events for 10 years after slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars ceremony.

    The Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, on Friday, voted to ban the ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’ star from all the Academy events for 10 years.

    Minutes after the decision was announced, Smith responded by saying, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision,” to Page Six.

    “The Board of Governors 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,” the Academy announced on Friday, through an official statement.

    The statement continued, “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.” Smith, 53, will keep the Oscar he won this year for his role in ‘King Richard.’

    ALSO READ | Will Smith gets 10-year Oscars ban over Chris Rock slap 

    For the unversed, while presenting the best documentary feature award at the 2022 Oscars, Chris Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.

    Rock said he couldn’t wait to see Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia areata, star in ‘G.I. Jane 2’ which led Smith to go up on stage and slap Rock. Smith returned to his seat and shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fu**ing mouth!”

    A few minutes after the incident, Smith was announced Best Actor at the 94th Academy Awards. While accepting his first-ever Oscar for best actor (leading role) in ‘King Richard’, Smith apologized to the Academy and fellow nominees but did not mention Rock.

    However, after receiving backlash for his disorderly behaviour, Smith issued an apology to Chris Rock and Academy on his social media handle. On March 29, there was a short virtual meeting between Smith, Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson, initiated by Smith.

    A few hours later, Smith announced his resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, claiming he “willfully accept any and all consequences for my conduct.” 

  • Joke was poor but Will Smith first laughed, then went crazy: Somy Ali on Oscars slap

    By IANS

    MUMBAI: Actress Somy Ali talks about the recent incident at the Oscars where Hollywood actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock since the latter made fun of Smith’s wife’s health condition.

    Somy says that she stands divided on the matter.

    “I have two opinions on this: The joke was in extremely poor taste given Smith’s wife’s struggle with alopecia. My second opinion is that violence begets violence and hate begets hate. Therefore, I do not condone violence in any situation as I am a pacifist myself. There could have been many ways to handle this on Smith’s end and it shows Rock’s class by not filing charges. Again, I am not in any shape or form saying that his joke was not hurtful to Jada, but if you notice Smith first laughed at it and then took action.

    “This depicts that he found it funny and then realised his wife’s condition and suddenly decided to do something about it with, no rationality whatsoever,” says Somy, who runs an NGO No More Tears in the US which help victims of domestic violence and abuse.

    She says that as celebrities, it’s important to accept that you will be trolled or joked about. “Once you are a celebrity and you choose to be one, you will forever be trolled, made fun of, bullied and, yes, be the joke of the party or award shows. There is simply no escaping that if you choose the fame game. It’s part of the territory and we see it daily on celebrities globally on their social media. I have been away from the industry for 20 years and now when I decide to speak my truth because I am now ready and it’s my choice to speak up when I wish to do so. I have been getting the most disgusting messages and sadly the majority of them are from women,” she says.

    She adds: “Well, here’s one of my favourite quotes: “Laugh loudly, laugh often, and most importantly laugh at yourself.” Chelsea Handler. If you can’t laugh at yourself, you are devoid of humility in my opinion.”

    Ask her where does she think people should draw the line with jokes, she says, “I think celebrities’ children should never bear the brunt of the jokes, children should always be left out of it. Jokes about rape, sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic violence cross the line for me. That’s absolutely unacceptable for me.”

  • Academy begins disciplinary proceedings against Will Smith for his behaviour at Oscars 2022

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Appears like Oscars 2022 slap controversy is not over yet. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday began disciplinary proceedings against actor Will Smith for misbehaving at the 94th Academy Awards held on Sunday.

    For a recap, while presenting the best documentary feature at the Oscars, comedian Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.

    Rock said he couldn’t wait to see Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia, star in ‘G.I. Jane 2′ which led Smith to go up on stage and slap Rock. Smith returned to his seat and shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fu**ing mouth!”

    After the incident, Smith who was announced Best Actor at the Oscars, was asked to leave the show but refused to do so; The Hollywood Reporter reported.

    The actor’s actions were in violation of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, “including inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the Academy,” The Hollywood Reporter quoted the statement released after a Board of Governors meeting.

    The statement revealed that Smith could face suspension, expulsion or other sanctions if the board chooses to take action at the next scheduled meeting on April 18.

    Additionally, Smith will receive 15 days’ notice of a vote as well as an opportunity to be heard by written response beforehand.

    “Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated. While we would like to clarify that Mr Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently,” The Hollywood Reporter quoted Academy.

    The Academy also apologised directly to Rock in the statement, as well as nominees, guests and viewers. For the unversed, while accepting his first-ever Oscar for best actor (leading role) in ‘King Richard’, Smith apologised to the Academy and fellow nominees, but did not mention Rock.

    The Hollywood Reporter reported that the officers of the organisation’s Board of Governors had an emergency meeting a day later, and the full board met on Wednesday to discuss the incident.

    One board of governor said there was broad support for Smith to be suspended or expelled from the Academy. “I think everyone unanimously feels what he did was out of control,” the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    “People want real consequence. Every member of every branch is reaching out to all their governors. It was an assault — and not only a physical assault, but an assault on the community,” told the source to The Hollywood Reporter.

    The source added that “images of Smith and his family celebrating and dancing at the post-Oscar Vanity Fair party as if nothing had happened was an additional insult.” Following a rage of backlash over social media, including from the Academy, Smith took to Instagram on Monday to apologise to Rock.

    The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Rock declined to press charges against what happened at the Oscars 2022 ceremony.

  • Chris Rock ‘still processing’ Will Smith’s slap at the Oscars 2022

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Comedian Chris Rock has finally broken his silence on Will Smith slapping him at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. During a stand-up show in Boston on Wednesday, Rock walked out to two boisterous standing ovations that lasted roughly two minutes, The Hollywood Reporter said.

    Rock, 57 opened his comedy with, “How was your weekend?” which was greeted with laughter, the outlet informed. The comedian then went on to speak briefly about “what happened” without directly mentioning the Oscars ceremony, or Will Smith.

    “I don’t have a bunch of shit about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend, and I’m still kind of processing what happened. So at some point I’ll talk about that shit. And it’ll be serious, and it’ll be funny,” Rock said.

    He continued, “I’m going to tell some jokes. It’s nice to just be out.” Rock later told the audience, “Except for some other pretty weird things, life is pretty good right now.” The comedian received big cheers at the show which ran about an hour, as per The Hollywood. For the unversed, this show marked Rock’s Ego Death World Tour, which runs through the fall.

    This appearance came after Smith took to his Instagram on Monday to apologise for slapping the comedian onstage during the live Academy Awards show.

    “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness,” Smith wrote on Instagram.

    “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” Smith said in his apology. He also apologised to the Academy for his behaviour.

    For the unversed, while presenting the best documentary feature at the Oscars, Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.

    Rock said he couldn’t wait to see Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia, star in ‘G.I. Jane 2’ which led Smith to go up on stage and slap Rock. Smith returned to his seat and shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fu**ing mouth!”

    A few minutes after the incident, Smith was announced Best Actor at the Oscars. The 94th Academy Awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday.

  • Oscars ratings bounce back as Will Smith hooks viewers

    By AFP

    LOS ANGELES: The Oscars were in desperate need of a ratings boost, and, on a night when Will Smith stunned viewers by slapping Chris Rock on stage, some 15.36 million Americans tuned in.

    Preliminary audience figures, revealed by broadcaster ABC on Monday, represent a significant recovery from last year’s record-low 9.85 million live viewers, although they are still the second-lowest in televised Academy Awards history.

    The moment when Smith struck comedian Rock for quipping about his wife’s hair-loss condition immediately went viral online, launching countless memes and opinions both defending and condemning the best actor winner.

    “Does the Academy want this kind of publicity? No, they don’t. They don’t want the kind of publicity that says violence takes place at the Oscars,” Variety’s Marc Malkin told AFP. 

    “That said, does it make more people talk about the Oscars in the Academy? For certain. I’m just not sure this is the way they want to be talked about.”

    The TV ratings recovery mirrors those of several other awards shows including television’s Emmys in September and the recent Screen Actors Guild award ceremonies.  Many award shows were forced to stage virtual or low-key ceremonies in 2021 because of the pandemic, and drew unusually low audiences.

    ALSO READ | Will Smith apologizes for his behaviour at Oscars 2022

    Oscars figures last year fell by around 50 percent from the previous ceremony’s 23.6 million, which was already a record low, as award shows struggle to remain relevant in an era of social media and binge-watching on streaming networks.

    Academy producers this year resorted to innovations such as pre-taping the announcements of winners in several less starry Oscars categories, and adding a “fan favorite” prize for a film voted by Twitter users.

    Sunday night’s show also ended with a historic win for “CODA,” which featured a mainly deaf cast, and was the first best picture triumph for a streaming service.

    But it was an unscripted and highly controversial moment that created the Oscars’ talking point Sunday, as Smith strode onto the Oscars stage and slapped Rock for a joke comparing his wife Jada Pinkett Smith to the character “G.I. Jane.” Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, a condition causing hair loss.

    Malkin said the planned changes to the schedule of the show ultimately “didn’t turn the Academy Awards upside down and on its head.” 

    “It’s hard to even look at those changes now, with what happened after the awards,” added Malkin, referring to the incident with Smith and Rock. “It is sort of like, ‘Okay, that didn’t happen!’” Official ratings will be released on Tuesday. 

  • Will Smith apologizes for his behaviour at Oscars 2022: ‘I was out of line and I was wrong’

    By Associated Press

    LOS ANGELES: The day after slapping Chris Rock on the Oscars stage and upending the 94th Academy Awards, Will Smith issued an apology to the comedian, to the academy and to viewers at home, saying he was “out of line” and that his actions are “not indicative of the man I want to be.”

    The fallout from Smith’s actions during Sunday’s ceremony continued Monday as Hollywood and the public continued to wrestle with a moment that stunned the Dolby Theatre crowd and viewers at home. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences condemned Smith striking Rock, who had made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and said it would launch an inquiry.

    Later in the day, Smith gave a stronger apology than he did in his best actor acceptance speech, which notably hadn’t included an apology to Rock.

    “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” said Smith in a statement issued by his publicist and posted on Instagram. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

    The 53-year-old actor added apologies to the film academy, producers of the telecast, attendees, viewers and the Williams family. Smith was honored Sunday for his role as Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, in “King Richard.”

    “I am a work in progress,” added Smith.

    After calling a board of governors meeting Monday to discuss the incident, the film academy said that it review Smith’s actions and “will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law.” The Los Angeles Police Department said Sunday it was aware of the incident but was not pursuing an investigation because the person involved declined to file a police report.

    Smith shocked the Dolby Theatre crowd and viewers at home when he took the stage after Rock, appearing as a presenter, joked: “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.”

    The joke touched a nerve. Pinkett Smith, whose head is shaved, has spoken publicly about her alopecia diagnosis. Smith strode on stage and slapped Rock across the face. Back in his seat, Smith twice shouted for Rock to “get my wife’s name out your (expletive) mouth.”

    His words echoed clearly throughout the Dolby, though broadcaster ABC cut the audio for about 15 seconds. Within an hour, Smith won best actor, receiving a standing ovation. During his five-minute acceptance speech, Smith spoke about defending his family. He also apologized to the academy.

    Rock’s joke wasn’t part of his routine during the rehearsals leading up to the show, according to two sources close to production who were not authorized to speak publicly.

    But Rock had joked about Pinkett Smith before. He hosted the 2016 Oscars, when some were boycotting the ceremony over the #OscarsSoWhite group of nominees, including the Smiths. Said Rock then: “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.”

    Smith’s actions rattled a pivotal Oscar ceremony. Until that moment, producer Will Packer had steered an orderly and lighthearted telecast that the academy hoped would restore the Academy Awards following last year’s record-low ratings. Sunday’s ceremony reached an estimated 15.36 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen company numbers Monday. While a marked improvement over the 9.85 million that watched last year, it was still the second-least viewed Oscars.

    Some academy members, like writer-producer Marshall Herskovitz, called for the academy to take disciplinary action against Smith.

    “He disgraced our entire community tonight,” wrote Herskovitz on Twitter. Whoopi Goldberg, a member of the Academy’s board of governors, said Monday on “The View”: “We’re not going to take that Oscar from him. There will be consequences, I’m sure.”

    The Screen Actors Guild also weighed in. The film, television and radio union called the incident “unacceptable.” SAG said that it had been in contact with the academy and ABC, and it doesn’t comment on the guild’s own disciplinary process.

    A sense of disbelief hung in the air at the Dolby Theatre after Smith’s assault. Not only was it a hard-to-fathom break with decorum on live national television an incident so dramatic, even movie-like, that many initially assumed it was a staged bit  it seemed wildly out of character for one of Hollywood’s most relentlessly upbeat stars. And it came less than an hour before Smith reached possibly the pinnacle of his career, winning his first Oscar, for best actor.

    “In a way, I feel bad for Will Smith, too, because I think he let his emotions get the better of him, and this should have been one of the great nights of his life,” said former Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel on Bill Simmons’ podcast. “And now it’s not. Was there anyone who didn’t like Will Smith an hour ago in the world? Like no one, right? Now he doesn’t have a single comedian friend — that’s for sure.”

    Some questioned whether Smith should have been allowed to continue to sit front and center after smacking Rock. Several stars rushed to counsel and calm Smith, including Denzel Washington, Bradley Cooper and Tyler Perry. But the timing was intensely awkward because the best actor category was due up soon after, and Smith had long been considered a lock for the award.

    “I know we’re all still processing, but the way casual violence was normalized tonight by a collective national audience will have consequences that we can’t even fathom in the moment,” wrote Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, on Twitter.

    The drama overshadowed some historical wins at the Oscars. The deaf family drama “CODA” became the first film with a largely deaf cast to win best picture. For the first time, a streaming service, Apple TV+, took Hollywood’s top honor, signaling a profound shift in Hollywood and in moviegoing. Wins for Ariana DeBose of “West Side Story,” Troy Kotsur of “CODA” and Jane Campion, director of “The Power of the Dog,” all had made history.

    ALSO READ | Jane Campion wins directing Oscar for ‘Power of the Dog’ 

    Others came to Smith’s defense, including Tiffany Haddish, who co-starred with Pinkett Smith in “Girls Trip.”

    “Maybe the world might not like how it went down, but for me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives,” Haddish told People magazine.

    ALSO READ | Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ wins big at Oscars 2022

    After the show, Smith posed for photographs with his family outside the Vanity Fair party. Inside, cell phone videos captured him dancing to “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” while clutching his Oscar. Their son Jaden tweeted: “And That’s How We Do It.” On Instagram, Smith posted: “Me ’n Jada Pinkett Smith got all dressed up to choose chaos.”

  • Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at Oscars brings focus on alopecia disorder

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Hollywood star Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars is making global headlines but the incident has also brought the focus on alopecia — a medical disorder that leads to varying degree of hair loss.

    During the Academy Awards ceremony, Smith slapped Rock on stage after the latter cracked a joke about the Hollywood star’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith.

    The joke was in reference to Pinkett-Smith’s shaved head because of autoimmune disorder alopecia but it apparently didn’t go down well with Smith, who went up to the stage and slapped Rock.

    Dermatologists and hair care experts from Delhi to Mumbai concurred that as the disorder entails loss of hair, it often “affects the self-image and self-esteem” of people suffering from it.

    Doctors at leading hospitals in Delhi said alopecia could be “scarring” or “non-scarring” or alopecia areata, triggered by autoimmune conditions.

    Mumbai-based dermatologist and hair transplant surgeon Dr Sonali Kohli said there are multiple kinds of alopecia, largely depending on the degree of autoimmune disorder.

    The most common type is “alopecia areata”, which occurs in about one out of 1,000 people.

    “In this type, there could be a single or multiple patches of hair loss and both adult and children can get it.

    Alopecia is a genetic disorder, so children have the susceptibility of getting it even if one of their parents have it, but the degree of susceptibility could be different,” she told PTI.

    Other types of alopecia are — alopecia totalis (when entire scalp turns bald); alopecia ophiasis (when even the hair loss is also on occipital, temporal, and parietal regions of the scalp); and alopecia universalis (when the hair loss happens across the entire body), doctors said.

    Kohli said in this disorder, essentially the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss.

    Kohli said she was aware of the incident that took place during the Academy Awards ceremony when actor Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage after he cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith.

    Kohli said unlike a disease like cancer which wrecks the body of a patient, this condition is such that it affects the “beauty” and “self-image” of a person due to loss of hair, and while in case of alopecia areata, some people wear a cap or something, and in case of alopecia totalis, many wear a wig or a hairpiece, it makes people conscious of their image.

    Smith, who later won the Best Actor award, tendered a tearful apology on stage, and said, “Love will make you do crazy things”, as his wife looked on sitting in the audience.

    As the incident has brought alopecia back under spotlight, many doctors said some of the Indian celebrities also have it, but they generally do no acknowledge it in public, as “actors in India ar considered God-like”.

    Dr D M Mahajan, senior consultant, dermatology, Apollo hospitals in Delhi said, both male and female are equally susceptible to this condition.

    In one type, there could be male-pattern alopecia or baldness or female-pattern alopecia or baldness.

    Also, non-scarring alopecia is “reversible” but scarring alopecia is “not reversible”, he said.

    “Also, people who have certain allergies are more susceptible to it,” the doctor said.

    Dr Rashmi Sharma, consultant, dermatology at Fortis Hospital at Vasant Kunj said while alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder largely, depression, anxiety and stress can also trigger it.

    “Every person has two per cent risk of developing this disorder or one in 1,000. And, both male and female are are equally susceptible, as are adults and children,” she said.

    Doctors said its treatment, depending on varying degree of disorder, could be use of topical ointment or intra-lesional steroid injection, among other interventions.

  • Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ wins big at Oscars 2022

    By ANI

    LOS ANGELES: Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ continued its winning streak at the 94th Academy Awards as it bagged the honours for Best Cinematography and Visual Effects.

    While Greig Fraser won in the cinematography category, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer received the award for VFX.

    The film had earned a total of 10 nominations at the 2022 Oscars out of which it won in six categories. Before the broadcast of the main ceremony, ‘Dune’ had bagged four Oscars for Best Film Editing, Best Score, Best Sound, and Best Production Design.

    A sequel-continuation to Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic is under development. According to Deadline, production on the film is expected to start in the fall, with the movie set to bow on October 20, 2023.

    Its first part was released on October 22, 2021, in the US. It featured actors Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem.

    The 94th Academy Awards were held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and the ceremony was hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes. The nominees had been announced on February 8 this year. (ANI)