Althouse: "Will Smith was never asked to leave the Oscars following Sunday's slap, a new report claims, as Academy Governor Whoopi Goldberg says bosses were too scared..."

March 31, 2022

"Will Smith was never asked to leave the Oscars following Sunday's slap, a new report claims, as Academy Governor Whoopi Goldberg says bosses were too scared..."

"... to physically remove the star over fears he was 'manic' and would cause an on-camera scene.... But according to TMZ, Oscars producer [Will] Packer told Smith he could remain at around 8pm, about 35 minutes after the slap and just five minutes before the actor won his first Academy Award for his role in King Richard.... Goldberg was not present at the Oscars and stressed that she was not speaking on behalf of the Academy's board of directors. 'I can't imagine what was going on back there, but I do know that the only person anybody should be focusing on is Will Smith,' she said."

The Daily Mail reports.

22 comments:

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: Yep. No way they're going to screw up that best actor award. That, best actress and best picture are all most people care about seeing when they tune in to the Oscars.; 3/31/22, 6:08 PM
Wa St Blogger said...: Just a question for Whoopie. Was it a slap-slap? That would make a difference on whether he should remain in good graces with the Academy.; 3/31/22, 6:19 PM
stlcdr said...: “Not present at the Oscars” makes her opinion of what happened/should happen/he said/she said about as valid as Punxsutawney Phil (may he Rest In Peace).; 3/31/22, 6:25 PM
Michael said...: Let us just be glad that the primary parties were both Black (or both White, I suppose). Imagine the hullabaloo if a White man had slapped a Black man or a Black man had slapped a White man. We'd still be reading about it in December, nuclear war or no nuclear war.; 3/31/22, 6:26 PM
Leland said...: You hear that Chris Rock? Whoopi don't give shit about any harm that came to you. The focus needs to be on Will Smith.; 3/31/22, 6:28 PM
Whatever you say said...: Doesn't the fact that Whoppi Goldberg on the Academy Governor enough information to tell us that these are very foolish people? I honestly did not think it was possible for the Academy to be less important. I stand corrected.; 3/31/22, 7:15 PM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: It’s going to turn out that the Academy didn’t ask Will Smith to leave directly, but was negotiating with him through his agent.; 3/31/22, 7:23 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: You can trust our media to get the story straight.; 3/31/22, 7:29 PM
MAJMike said...: Haven't watched that self-congratulatory circle jerk for at least 30 years.; 3/31/22, 8:28 PM
Mr. Majestyk said...: Rock's joke was in poor taste, but not worthy of physical violence.; 3/31/22, 8:30 PM
Narayanan said...: amazing.

DOJ and FBI were itching to arrest and cuff Trump in the Oval Office and frog march him out of White House.

how is secret service expected/supposed to respond ?; 3/31/22, 8:30 PM
Static Ping said...: She's correct that we should be focused on Will Smith, both because he was the aggressor, but also because he does not appear to be in a good place. Honestly, I fear for his safety.; 3/31/22, 8:51 PM
madAsHell said...: I truly believed that both of those guys were above this "kinda shit".; 3/31/22, 9:31 PM
Quaestor said...: The American Spectator has an article praising Smith as the "last gentleman".

Sometimes I think Quaestor is the last gentleman, which is either insanely solipsistic or just plain stupid. That goes double for The American Spectator.

I am still convinced the slapping incident was staged for effect. The fact that the director kept his cameras on Will Smith and allowed the slap footage and the subsequent f-bombs (they were bleeped, weren't they?) to go out rather than breaking to something else ought to tell you this was an on-script moment and not unexpected. The Oscar events aren't live, they are delayed 15 seconds, allowing directors to edit out wardrobe malfunctions, substance abuse, and other embarrassing moments that might gravely damage an unsober actor's career. The "slap" wasn't bleeped like the f-bombs, but it could have been. The Oscars ceremonies aren't news events or sports. Their presentation is handled by the entertainment division of the network holding the contract, virtually nothing unexpected is actually broadcast. Furthermore, no one has asked Chris Rock whether he intends legal action, because they know he cannot.; 3/31/22, 9:50 PM
Joe Smith said...: 'Rock's joke was in poor taste, but not worthy of physical violence.'

And Rock held his fire after the slap.

He could have beaten Smith down verbally and humiliated him on worldwide TV.

Smith is lucky that Rock gave him a break...; 3/31/22, 9:58 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: No kidding. Of course they're not going to wrestle Will Smith to the ground at the Oscars. Let's deal with reality. That was never going to happen unless he seemed to pose a continuing threat. They're selling glamour. It's an illusion. Smith screwed it up when he slapped Rock. They're not going to stab their glamour through the heart by turning the Oscars into an episode of COPS.; 4/1/22, 12:42 AM
CWJ said...: "...over fears he was 'manic' and would cause an on-camera scene..."

Now that's funny.; 4/1/22, 8:36 AM
Interested Bystander said...: "Blogger Mr. Majestyk said...
Rock's joke was in poor taste, but not worthy of physical violence.

3/31/22, 8:30 PM"

If you think Rock was in bad taste you should have seen Ricky Gervais' monologue a few years ago. He ripped several big names in the audience a new one right to their faces. I'm surprised no one smacked him one.; 4/1/22, 9:36 AM
Interested Bystander said...: Correction: Ricky Gervais insulted the Golden Globes idiots not the Academy.; 4/1/22, 9:37 AM
Anthony said...: >>I am still convinced the slapping incident was staged for effect.

I'm in that camp as well. Just too weird to be spontaneous.

Then again, these people are freakin' weird anyway. . ..; 4/1/22, 11:45 AM
readering said...: Will Smith:

I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home. I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate. Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.

Really committing to that hoax, huh?; 4/1/22, 6:23 PM
285exp said...: I don’t think it was staged, Smith laughed at the joke initially, and only went up to defend his woman’s honor after she gave him the stink eye. The only person who looks good in this whole thing is Chris Rock, Will Smith looks like either a cuck, who only went up and slapped Rock because his woman shamed him into it, or a rather slow hothead who took a while to figure out she had been disrespected. The Academy looks terrible for not kicking him out, and even letting him accept his his award and give a speech, like he hadn’t just gone up and attacked the host of the ceremony. Now they say they asked him to leave, and he refused, and they just let him? No, they’re professional actors, if they were going to stage this, they wouldn’t have done it so stupidly.; 4/1/22, 6:35 PM