Academy Governor Insists Will Smith Won’t Be Stripped Of His Oscar After Chris Rock Assault

Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the Oscars has garnered lots of reactions all over the world with many calling for Will’s Oscar to be taken away from him.

Academy Governor; Whoopi Goldberg has insisted that Will Smith won’t have his Oscar taken away from him after he broke the Academy’s code of conduct by slapping Chris Rock.

Will, 53, has since apologized for assaulting Chris, 57, at Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony, saying his behavior was ‘unacceptable and inexcusable’ and left him ’embarrassed’.

The group that hands out the Oscars condemned Will’s actions on Monday and said it had started a formal review of the incident, yet Academy Governor Whoopi has insisted that the fallout won’t be as dramatic as stripping Will of the honour.

Speaking on the US talk show ‘The View’, Goldberg, who is a serving Governor for the Academy’s Actors Branch, went on to defend Will’s actions, reasoning: ‘sometimes you behave badly’.

Will had slapped Chris on live television after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair.

Smith walked onto the stage from his front-row seat and took a swing at Rock with an open palm, generating a loud smack. Smith walked back to his seat and shouted for Rock to leave Pinkett Smith alone. Rock replied that he was just making a “GI Jane” joke — and Smith yelled back at him a second time.

Whoopi said on Monday’s show: ‘I think it was a lot of stuff probably built up.

‘I think he overreacted… I think he had one of those moments where it was like [God damn] it, just stop. I get it, not everybody acts the way we would like them to act under pressure. And he snapped…

‘Sometimes you get to a point when you behave badly. I myself have behaved badly on occasion.’

Whoopi’s co-host Sunny Hostin said that she was ‘surprised [Will] Wasn’t escorted out’, and questioned if there was the possibility of Will’s Oscar being taken away.

Whoopi replied: ‘We’re not going to take that Oscar from him.

‘There will be consequences I’m sure, but I don’t think that’s what they’re going to do, particularly because Chris said ‘Listen, I’m not pressing any charges.’

Despite Whoopi’s comments, there have been calls for the Academy to strip Will of his Best Actor Oscar.

The Academy, in its code of conduct, is known to take a very dim view of violence of any kind.

After the award ceremony was over it tweeted: ‘The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.’

The Academy reestablished its Code of Conduct in 2017 during the Me Too Movement.

‘Academy membership is a privilege offered to only a select few within the global community of filmmakers,’ AMPAS CEO Dawn Hudson wrote to members following various scandals in the industry.

On Sunday night, in the Dolby Theatre, there was complete bewilderment in the moments after the assault took place with those present initially wondering if the punch was part of a stunt.

The punch threw the entire Oscars broadcast into chaos as producers were frantically forced into deciding how to deal with the on-air assault, with Smith still yet to receive his Best Actor statuette.

Will has since apologized in an Instagram post, stating that he was ’embarrassed’ by his actions, which shocked the ceremony attendees, producers, and viewers.

His full statement reads: “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. 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.”

“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

“I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees, and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my ‘King Richard’ family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.”

“I am a work in progress. Sincerely, Will.”