The Academy of Oscars announced on Monday that it had opened an “investigation” into the incident that occurred the day before at the gala evening, during which actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock after a joke about his close-cropped hair. his wife. “The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith during last night’s show,” the organization wrote in a statement sent to AFP. “We have officially begun an investigation into this incident”, specifies the Academy which will examine the follow-up to be given with regard to its “regulations and Californian law”. Disciplinary sanctions? What risk does the actor, crowned shortly after the best actor incident for his role in The Williams Method, which retraces the sporting debut of sisters Serena and Venus Williams? Some called on the Academy of Oscars to withdraw her award, but actress Whoopi Goldberg, one of the Academy’s trustees, said that would not be the case. “There will be consequences, I I’m sure, but I don’t think that’s what they’re going to do, especially because Chris Rock said he wouldn’t press charges,” she said on television. On the criminal level either, no prosecution seems possible at this stage in the absence of a complaint from Chris Rock, the Los Angeles police had indicated on Sunday evening. Will Smith would therefore only expose himself to disciplinary sanctions, which may go according to the code. of conduct of the Academy from the simple reprimand to the expulsion. Exemplarity But the first punishment inflicted on the actor came from social networks, where many denounced the violence he showed. The strongest condemnation came from American actor and director Judd Apatow in a tweet which he later deleted but which comedian Mia Farrow took up: Will Smith “could have killed him. He just lost control of his anger and his violence (…) He lost his mind.” The star player of the San Francisco Golden State Warriors, basketball player Stephen Curry, said he was “still in shock, like everyone else” . For British writer Bernardine Evaristo, whose father is Nigerian, Will Smith missed an opportunity to set an example, especially for African-Americans: while he is “only the fifth black in nearly 100 years to win an Oscar for a title role and the first in 16 years, (he) resorts to violence instead of using the power of words to defeat Chris Rock”, she denounced on Twitter. “And then he invokes God and the love that would have made him do this,” she further lambasted. Richard Williams, father of tennis champions Serena and Venus Williams, whom Will Smith plays in his film, said by his son’s voice that he “does not condone any violence against anyone,” according to NBC television. Some celebrities, however, have lent their support to Will Smith. Former One Direction singer Liam Payne reacted to reporters: “I think whatever he did, he had the right to do it.” The elected Democrat of Massachusetts Ayanna Pressley, also suffering from alopecia, thanked him in a tweet since deleted. “Bravo to all the husbands who stand up for their wives with alopecia in the face of everyday ignorance and insults,” she wrote. Will Smith was also defended by actress Tiffany Haddish: “That’s what Your husband is supposed to, right? Protect you,” she told People magazine. the Oscars night scene after a joke about his wife. It was a joke by Chris Rock about the shaved head of Jada Pinkett Smith, suffering from alopecia – a disease causing severe hair loss, which she revealed to suffer from a few years ago – which had started the scandal. Will Smith was suddenly got on stage and slapped Chris Rock under the dumbfounded eyes of celebrities and viewers. The 53-year-old actor yelled at her, “Leave my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!” once back in his chair. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. What I did was inappropriate and I was wrong,” Will Smith wrote on his Instagram account on Monday. “My behavior last night at the Oscars was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s health issue was too much for me and I reacted emotionally,” he explained, explicitly dismissing “all violence”. He also asked for forgiveness from the organizers, everyone who witnessed the scene, as well as the “Williams family” and the film crew.
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