Oscars 2022: Could Will Smith lose his Best Actor award for hitting Chris Rock?
Actor won ‘Best Actor’ award minutes after slapping Rock
Fans have questioned whether Will Smith could lose his Oscar after hitting Chris Rock in the face on stage.
During Sunday (27 March) night’s awards show, Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, referring to her as “GI Jane 2” in reference to her shaved head.
Smith then walked onto the stage and hit Rock, before returning to his seat and shouting: “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth.”
Just 15 minutes later, Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in King Richard, using his speech to say: “I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people.”
Following the altercation, the Academy tweeted: “The Academy does not condone violence of any form.”
As a result, viewers have questioned whether Smith will be stripped of his long-awaited Oscar for his actions.
Back in the wake of the #MeToo scandal in 2017, the Academy publicly released their code of conduct.
The guidelines emphasise the importance of “upholding the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity, inclusion, and a supportive environment that fosters creativity”.
CEO Dawn Hudson said at the time that “there is no place in the Academy for people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates recognised standards of decency.
“The Academy is categorically opposed to any form of abuse, harassment or discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, or nationality. The Board of Governors believes that these standards are essential to the Academy’s mission and reflective of our values.”
“The Academy is categorically opposed to any form of abuse, harassment or discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, or nationality. The Board of Governors believes that these standards are essential to the Academy’s mission and reflective of our values.”
