Oscars slap conversations consume the internet
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COURTESY// Flickr
On March 27, Will Smith slapped Comedian Chris Rock across the face at the 94th annual Academy Awards, and the internet will not stop talking about it. Smith resorted to violence after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith who suffers from Alopecia, being bald.
On April 1, Smith announced his resignation from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences following the academy’s announcement that disciplinary proceedings were initiated. This means that Smith will no longer be able to vote on Oscar-nominated works, but his work can still be nominated for Oscars.
Jokes and memes about the slap heard around the world are still circulating social media platforms a week after the Oscars. Popular comedy show “Saturday Night Live” made many jokes about the situation on their April 2 show and had a whole skit making fun of the event.
In the past week, everyone has been giving their opinion on the situation, including celebrities like Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kravitz, Tiffany Haddish and Amy Schumer. Some think that Smith did the right thing standing up for his wife while many others believe his act of violence was unacceptable.
Unfortunately, Smith’s actions are getting a lot more attention than big Oscar wins this year. Sonoma State student Jessica Davis said, “I just feel bad that some historical winners of the night were overshadowed by what happened.”
An example of historical moments snubbed by the slap heard round the world was Troy Kotsur becoming the first male deaf actor to win an Oscar for actor in a supporting role for “CODA,” and the film's writer Siân Héder becoming the second woman to win best adapted screenplay.
Smith won best actor for his role in “King Richard” and gave a five and a half minute long speech, which is significantly longer than the usual allotted time. Oscar winners are given 45 seconds for their acceptance speech, and this rule is often slightly broken, but a speech lasting more than five minutes has not happened since 1942.
A tweet from the Academy’s Twitter account reads, “The Academy does not condone violence of any form,” yet Smith seemed to be rewarded for his behavior. He was allowed to stay for the rest of the show and received cheers and praise from some of the audience.
The academy has launched an investigation into the event and it will take many weeks before a decision is made. If Smith had not decided to resign from the academy and this investigation got him expelled, he would have been the fifth person to be barred from the academy.
New information about the situation has been coming out slowly, and there is talk about Smith losing his award.
Ryan Harris, a third year sociology major at SSU, believes that Smith should not have his Oscar revoked since he earned it, but said, “Security shouldn’t have let him just walk up on stage, since it wasn’t his turn to be up there in the first place.”
It is doubtful that Smith will lose his award, since the academy has given Oscars to men who have done worse. Kevin Spacey has won two Oscars, and multiple men and women have made sexual harassment and assault allegations against him both before and after his wins.
Smith publicly apologized on Instagram the day after the show, stating, “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."
Rock has not released any statements about the situation besides a comment he made at a stand up show saying he is still processing what happened. He has decided not to press charges.
