Tag: Will Smith slap

  • Oscars response to Smith slap inadequate, academy head says

    By Associated Press

    LOS ANGELES: The slap sat front and center at Monday’s Oscar nominees luncheon.

    So much so that motion picture academy president Janet Yang neither had to describe it nor say the names Will Smith or Chris Rock for the ballroom full of award hopefuls to know what she was talking about when she aired her regrets.

    “I’m sure you all remember we experienced an unprecedented event at the Oscars,” Yang told a crowd that included Tom Cruise, Angela Bassett, Cate Blanchett and Steven Spielberg during her opening remarks. “What happened onstage was wholly unacceptable and the response from our organization was inadequate.”

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did little in response to Smith storming the stage and slapping Rock during last year’s Oscars telecast or in the immediate aftermath. It was nearly two weeks before its board of governors voted to ban Smith from the Oscars and all other academy events for 10 years. Smith had already preemptively resigned as an academy member.

    “We learned from this that the academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions,” Yang said, “and particularly in times of crisis you must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry. You should and can expect no less form us going forward.”

    Yang, who was not president at the time, was interrupted by a mild round of applause, and did not elaborate further, moving on to happier topics.

    Oscar nominees pose for their 2023 class photo at the annual #Oscars luncheon. pic.twitter.com/yYwFiGqdsW
    — AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) February 14, 2023
    She was met with whooping applause when told the nominees that all categories will be shown live on the March 12 ABC telecast. Last year, in a controversy largely eclipsed by the slap, several Oscars were handed out in a pre-telecast ceremony and edited versions of winners’ speeches were squeezed into the main show.

    The luncheon is a warm, feel-good affair where nominees are in general treated with equality, and a relative unknown up for best animated short might be seated next to an A-lister up for best actor.

    Some, of course, attract more attention than others, and don’t need to wear the nametags handed out to all.

    Tom Cruise, nominated as a producer for best picture candidate “Top Gun: Maverick,” managed briefly to mix in with the crowd in a ballroom at the Beverly Hilton before he attracted a crowd of gawkers.

    He and Jamie Lee Curtis, up for best supporting actress for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” pressed their foreheads together and giggled when they bumped into each other.

    He smiled widely as he posed for photos with his old “War of the Worlds” and “Minority Report” collaborator Steven Spielberg, up for best director for “The Fabelmans,” and Michelle Yeoh, up for best actress for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the year’s most nominated film.

    In a pairing representative of the random-seeming seating chart, Odessa Rae, producer of the nominated documentary feature “Navalny,” chatted with table-mate and best actor nominee Colin Farrell during the lunch of risotto and oyster mushrooms cut to resemble scallops.

    Michelle Williams, from left, Hong Chau, Tom Cruise, and Steven Spielberg attend the 95th Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon on February 13, 2023. (Photo | AP)

    At another table nearby, Brian Tyree Henry, best supporting actor nominee for “Causeway,” laughed with Jenny Slate, voice star of animated feature nominee “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On.”

    The centerpiece of the luncheon is the class picture, the staging of which feels like a high school graduation. An academy governor read off the names of 182 nominees and their peers cheered as they walked up and took their spots on the risers.

    “Jamie Lee Curtis,” producer DeVon Franklin enunciated loudly into the mic. Curtis leapt up and got a big ovation as she climbed alone to the top tier.

    Henry, a first-time nominee, stood at his table, raised an arm in the air and yelped when his name was called.

    Ke Huy Quan, another first-timer, up for best supporting actor for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” ran up to his spot in front and shook his fists in triumph. He hugged “Babylon” composer Justin Hurwitz, assigned to stand next to him.

    Bassett, nominated for best supporting actress for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” got one of the afternoon’s biggest cheers when her name was called, and hugged Cruise when she got to her spot next to him.

    The luncheon also functions as an Oscars orientation for would-be winners. Yang emphasized that acceptance speeches at next month’s ceremony have to be kept to 45 seconds.

    “Let’s say it together, 45 seconds,” she told the crowd.

    They repeated it back to her in unison, though at least a few are sure to forget — or ignore her — once they get the statue in their hands.

    LOS ANGELES: The slap sat front and center at Monday’s Oscar nominees luncheon.

    So much so that motion picture academy president Janet Yang neither had to describe it nor say the names Will Smith or Chris Rock for the ballroom full of award hopefuls to know what she was talking about when she aired her regrets.

    “I’m sure you all remember we experienced an unprecedented event at the Oscars,” Yang told a crowd that included Tom Cruise, Angela Bassett, Cate Blanchett and Steven Spielberg during her opening remarks. “What happened onstage was wholly unacceptable and the response from our organization was inadequate.”

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did little in response to Smith storming the stage and slapping Rock during last year’s Oscars telecast or in the immediate aftermath. It was nearly two weeks before its board of governors voted to ban Smith from the Oscars and all other academy events for 10 years. Smith had already preemptively resigned as an academy member.

    “We learned from this that the academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions,” Yang said, “and particularly in times of crisis you must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry. You should and can expect no less form us going forward.”

    Yang, who was not president at the time, was interrupted by a mild round of applause, and did not elaborate further, moving on to happier topics.

    Oscar nominees pose for their 2023 class photo at the annual #Oscars luncheon. pic.twitter.com/yYwFiGqdsW
    — AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) February 14, 2023
    She was met with whooping applause when told the nominees that all categories will be shown live on the March 12 ABC telecast. Last year, in a controversy largely eclipsed by the slap, several Oscars were handed out in a pre-telecast ceremony and edited versions of winners’ speeches were squeezed into the main show.

    The luncheon is a warm, feel-good affair where nominees are in general treated with equality, and a relative unknown up for best animated short might be seated next to an A-lister up for best actor.

    Some, of course, attract more attention than others, and don’t need to wear the nametags handed out to all.

    Tom Cruise, nominated as a producer for best picture candidate “Top Gun: Maverick,” managed briefly to mix in with the crowd in a ballroom at the Beverly Hilton before he attracted a crowd of gawkers.

    He and Jamie Lee Curtis, up for best supporting actress for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” pressed their foreheads together and giggled when they bumped into each other.

    He smiled widely as he posed for photos with his old “War of the Worlds” and “Minority Report” collaborator Steven Spielberg, up for best director for “The Fabelmans,” and Michelle Yeoh, up for best actress for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the year’s most nominated film.

    In a pairing representative of the random-seeming seating chart, Odessa Rae, producer of the nominated documentary feature “Navalny,” chatted with table-mate and best actor nominee Colin Farrell during the lunch of risotto and oyster mushrooms cut to resemble scallops.

    Michelle Williams, from left, Hong Chau, Tom Cruise, and Steven Spielberg attend the 95th Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon on February 13, 2023. (Photo | AP)

    At another table nearby, Brian Tyree Henry, best supporting actor nominee for “Causeway,” laughed with Jenny Slate, voice star of animated feature nominee “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On.”

    The centerpiece of the luncheon is the class picture, the staging of which feels like a high school graduation. An academy governor read off the names of 182 nominees and their peers cheered as they walked up and took their spots on the risers.

    “Jamie Lee Curtis,” producer DeVon Franklin enunciated loudly into the mic. Curtis leapt up and got a big ovation as she climbed alone to the top tier.

    Henry, a first-time nominee, stood at his table, raised an arm in the air and yelped when his name was called.

    Ke Huy Quan, another first-timer, up for best supporting actor for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” ran up to his spot in front and shook his fists in triumph. He hugged “Babylon” composer Justin Hurwitz, assigned to stand next to him.

    Bassett, nominated for best supporting actress for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” got one of the afternoon’s biggest cheers when her name was called, and hugged Cruise when she got to her spot next to him.

    The luncheon also functions as an Oscars orientation for would-be winners. Yang emphasized that acceptance speeches at next month’s ceremony have to be kept to 45 seconds.

    “Let’s say it together, 45 seconds,” she told the crowd.

    They repeated it back to her in unison, though at least a few are sure to forget — or ignore her — once they get the statue in their hands.

  • Nicole Brown Simpson’s sister slams Chris Rock over joke about her murder

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Tanya Brown, Nicole Brown Simpson’s sister, voiced outrage at Chris Rock’s latest joke about her sister’s brutal murder.

    According to Fox News, the 57-year-old comic allegedly said during Rock’s Sunday night performance in Phoenix that asking Simpson to “go back to the restaurant” where she left her eyeglasses before she was slain would be like asking him to attend the Academy Awards following the notorious Will Smith slap incident.

    “Nothing funny about his joke towards Jada as she suffers from a physical condition and nothing funny about equating an Oscar host invitation to a double homicide,” Tanya wrote on Instagram.

    “I always thought he was funny, but he crossed the line with this one,” the motivational speaker and life coach added.

    “In other words, Y’all!!!! Stop using my sister, OJ and Ron as part of your cricking comedy act. There are families behind this tragedy!” she said of Rock drawing a parallel between the slap and Brown and Ron Goldman’s gruesome double homicide.

    According to Fox News, during his stand-up routine, Rock informed the audience that he had turned down the opportunity to host the 2023 Oscars after Will Smith slapped him onstage during the 2022 event because of a joke the comic had made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

    ALSO READ | Will Smith posts an apology video for slapping Chris Rock

    Smith’s hair inspired a “G.I. Jane” joke from Rock. The actor from “The Nutty Professor” has alopecia, an autoimmune condition that results in hair loss.

    At her Brentwood, California, home, Brown and her companion, Goldman were discovered dead from knife wounds in June 1997. O.J. Simpson, Brown’s spouse and a former NFL star, was accused of the double homicide but was ultimately found not guilty after a highly publicised trial.

    “I don’t advocate violence but I guess this guy hasn’t learned his lesson,” he wrote. “I guess Will failed to slap any sense into him.”

    “I know some people who are deeply hurt and offended by this joke. Lame as it is. I mean he has every right to say what he said but maybe if some of his jokes were more general in nature and not so specific as to mock specific people,” Darden’s post continues.

    ALSO READ | Amber Heard’s sister calls MTV disgusting over Johnny Depp’s appearance

    “Nicole was somebody’s mother bruh and Ron was a son and a brother, you know? Do you always have to make a joke at somebody else’s expense?”

    Darden added, “Ain’t you learned nothing from the slap that was heard around the world?”

    Rock’s murder joke provoked a lot of discussion on social media. Christopher Darden, one of the trial’s prosecutors, chimed in on a post he uploaded to his personal Instagram account, according to an Entertainment Tonight article.

    WASHINGTON: Tanya Brown, Nicole Brown Simpson’s sister, voiced outrage at Chris Rock’s latest joke about her sister’s brutal murder.

    According to Fox News, the 57-year-old comic allegedly said during Rock’s Sunday night performance in Phoenix that asking Simpson to “go back to the restaurant” where she left her eyeglasses before she was slain would be like asking him to attend the Academy Awards following the notorious Will Smith slap incident.

    “Nothing funny about his joke towards Jada as she suffers from a physical condition and nothing funny about equating an Oscar host invitation to a double homicide,” Tanya wrote on Instagram.

    “I always thought he was funny, but he crossed the line with this one,” the motivational speaker and life coach added.

    “In other words, Y’all!!!! Stop using my sister, OJ and Ron as part of your cricking comedy act. There are families behind this tragedy!” she said of Rock drawing a parallel between the slap and Brown and Ron Goldman’s gruesome double homicide.

    According to Fox News, during his stand-up routine, Rock informed the audience that he had turned down the opportunity to host the 2023 Oscars after Will Smith slapped him onstage during the 2022 event because of a joke the comic had made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

    ALSO READ | Will Smith posts an apology video for slapping Chris Rock

    Smith’s hair inspired a “G.I. Jane” joke from Rock. The actor from “The Nutty Professor” has alopecia, an autoimmune condition that results in hair loss.

    At her Brentwood, California, home, Brown and her companion, Goldman were discovered dead from knife wounds in June 1997. O.J. Simpson, Brown’s spouse and a former NFL star, was accused of the double homicide but was ultimately found not guilty after a highly publicised trial.

    “I don’t advocate violence but I guess this guy hasn’t learned his lesson,” he wrote. “I guess Will failed to slap any sense into him.”

    “I know some people who are deeply hurt and offended by this joke. Lame as it is. I mean he has every right to say what he said but maybe if some of his jokes were more general in nature and not so specific as to mock specific people,” Darden’s post continues.

    ALSO READ | Amber Heard’s sister calls MTV disgusting over Johnny Depp’s appearance

    “Nicole was somebody’s mother bruh and Ron was a son and a brother, you know? Do you always have to make a joke at somebody else’s expense?”

    Darden added, “Ain’t you learned nothing from the slap that was heard around the world?”

    Rock’s murder joke provoked a lot of discussion on social media. Christopher Darden, one of the trial’s prosecutors, chimed in on a post he uploaded to his personal Instagram account, according to an Entertainment Tonight article.

  • Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscars row: Academy says it will take ‘appropriate action’ over slap incident

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has said that it is “upset and outraged” over Hollywood star Will Smith’s behaviour during the 2022 Oscars ceremony during which he slapped actor-comedian Chris Rock on stage.

    AMPAS president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson sent a letter to the Academy members, promising that the organisation will take “appropriate action” over the incident after an official process that would take a “few weeks”.

    “Sunday’s telecast of the 94th Oscars was meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year. We are upset and outraged that those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behaviour on stage by a nominee. To be clear, we condemn Mr. Smith’s actions that transpired Sunday night. As outlined in our bylaws, the Academy’s Board of Governors will now make a determination on appropriate action for Mr. Smith.”

    As governed by California law regarding members of nonprofit organizations like the Academy, and set forth in our Standards of Conduct, this must follow an official process that will take a few weeks,” the letter read.

    The live telecast of the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday was marred by the incident in which Rock cracked a joke at actor Jada Pinkett Smith’s expense and Smith responded by slapping the actor-comic on stage.

    The incident started when Rock came on stage to announce the winners for best documentary feature award and made a tasteless joke about Pinkett-Smith, saying she could star in the sequel to “G.I. Jane”, in an apparent reference to her shaved head because of the autoimmune disorder alopecia.

    An enraged Smith went up and hit Rock on the face, leaving the audience members as well as millions of viewers of the ceremony shocked.

    Smith later won the best actor trophy for his performance in the movie “King Richard”.

    He apologised to the Oscars organisers in his acceptance speech but not to Rock, who declined to press charges against Smith.

    On Monday, the “Bad Boys” star publicly tendered an apology to Rock on Instagram.

    The letter further stated that it will continue to update the members on “any developments, but we also ask that you respect your Board, Academy staff and the process as this unfolds so it can work in the considered way it was intended and mandated”.

    “Please trust that the Board of Governors will conduct this process in a manner that is both expedient and respectful of all involved while maintaining the standards of the Academy,” the letter concluded.

    In the immediate aftermath of the slapgate controversy, the Academy had condemned Smith’s actions and later launched a formal review into the incident that will go down as one of the most shocking moments in Oscars history.