Will Smith meets Academy heads to discuss fallout from slap incident at Oscars 2022

Actor Will Smith’s instant reaction to comedian Chris Rock’s joke during the Oscars 2022 has landed him in great trouble. After their altercation, the leaders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences met with the Oscar winner actor on Tuesday to discuss his attack on Chris. According to Variety, Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson talked to the actor on Zoom about the fallout from the assault.

According to a source close to the development, the conversation between the trio lasted for roughly 30 minutes. Another source familiar with the meeting told the International media outlet that the conversation was “brief.” During the brief conversation, the King Richard actor apologized again to Rubin and Hudson for his action, expressed his awareness that there would be consequences, and explained why he snapped when Rock made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair.

Will Smith sits down with Academy Awards organisers amid altercation row

The incident happened during the recent Oscars, where Chris Rock joked about Will Smith’s wife Jada’s hair loss condition, which triggered the actor. Will stepped on the stage in between and slapped him while warning him to not involve his wife in any joke. Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed earlier about suffering from hair loss due to alopecia.

Apart from the trio, the attendees at an emergency meeting of the Academy’s Board of Governors on Wednesday did not recall Rubin or Hudson mentioning their talk with Smith on the previous day. Following that meeting, the Academy announced that Smith had violated the group’s code of conduct and faced “suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions.” 

As per Variety, the Academy also asked Smith to leave the ceremony following the incident, but he refused. Others disputed the characterization of events, with sources saying the Academy’s request was not explicitly made and producer Will Packer urged the actor to remain. 

The actor won his first Oscars in the Best Actor category for his performance in King Richard. In his acceptance speech, the actor left everyone emotional when he described his behaviour in his character Richard Williams’ defence of his daughters, tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams.

Image: AP