Sean Penn slammed Will Smith and wondered why the King Richard star still received applause at the 2022 Oscars after his violent outburst.
The Milk actor got “fucking furious,” according to Variety, during an interview with the outlet in which he discussed the Oscars’ refusal to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to speak at the awards show that year.
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“The Oscars producer thought, ‘Oh, he’s not light-hearted enough.’ Well, guess what you got instead? Will Smith!” said Penn, who shot a documentary about the war in Ukraine.
“I don’t know Will Smith. I met him once,” Penn said, adding that he “seemed very nice” and was excellent in King Richard, the biopic that landed Smith an Oscar for Best Actor.
“So why the fuck did you just spit on yourself and everybody else with this stupid fucking thing? Why did I go to fucking jail for what you just did? And you’re still sitting there? Why are you guys standing and applauding his worst moment as a person?” he said.
Penn was convicted in 1987 for assaulting an extra on the set of the movie Colors. He spent 33 days in jail.
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Smith won an Oscar in 2022 after he slapped comedian Chris Rock onstage for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
He has since apologised and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which banned him from attending the Oscars for 10 years. Rock did not press charges.
Penn, who has two Oscars of his own, told Variety he believed the incident would not have taken place if Zelenskyy had spoken at the event.
“Will Smith would never have left that chair to be part of stupid violence. It never would have happened,” he said.
Penn has a long history of violence himself. He was ordered to undergo anger management counselling in 2010 after he was accused of kicking a photographer and breaking his camera, in one of several altercations with paparazzi over the years.
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He also faced a domestic assault charge during his marriage to pop legend Madonna, which ended in divorce in 1989. Both Madonna and Penn have since denied that Penn attacked her.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Friday that it will ban Will Smith from attending the Oscars for the next decade.
In a statement, academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said Smith will be banned from “any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually,” for a 10-year period starting April 8.
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“The action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy,” the statement reads. “We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted.”
Smith issued a brief statement on the decision, per The Hollywood Reporter: “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”
The news comes less than two weeks after Smith slapped Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head while the comedian was presenting an award at the March 27 ceremony. Jada Pinkett Smith has been open about her struggles with alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss.
Rubin and Hudson also apologized for not addressing the incident during the telecast.
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“This was an opportunity for us to set an example of our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented,” they wrote.
The incident shocked viewers around the world and led to several days of reaction and discussion. Will Smith, who was awarded Best Actor for his role in “King Richard” just minutes after slapping Rock, has since apologized for his actions. He also resigned his membership in the academy and said he was prepared to “accept any further consequences” that the organization deemed appropriate.
“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,” Smith said in a statement on April 1.
“I’m still processing what happened, so at some point, I’ll talk about that shit,” he said at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre. “It’ll be serious. It’ll be funny. But right now, I’m going to tell some jokes.”
Comedian Ricky Gervais, known for burning celebrities as a frequent host of the Golden Globes, said he would not have joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head at the Oscars. So Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock would not have happened, he concluded.
“I’ll get it out of the way,” he said at a show in London, per the Mirror. “I have not got any Will Smith material. I trended when that happened, and I was not even there.”
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“What has it got to do with me? People were going, ‘What would have happened if Ricky Gervais had been doing it [presenting an Oscar award)]?’” he continued. “Well, nothing, as I would not have made a joke about his wife’s hair. I would have made a joke about her boyfriend.”
Gervais was referring to Jada Pinkett Smith’s “entanglement” with rapper August Alsina, which she revealed in 2020. While Will Smith hinted last year that he and his wife had an open marriage, the couple said they were separated at the time of Jada Pinkett Smith’s dalliance with Alsina.
Gervais, however, is no stranger to jokes about alopecia, Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss condition. At the Oscars on Sunday, Rock made a “G.I. Jane” dig about it and an offended Will Smith hit him in the face onstage in a stunning TV moment.
Gervais joked at his recent show that he might change his tour name from “Armageddon” to “Alopecia,” the Mirror reported.
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After the Oscars incident, the comedian also shared a cringe-worthy tweet of his character from “The Office” making fun of people with alopecia.
Gervais could be considered somewhat of an expert on dishing out political incorrectness to a celebrity crowd. Watch him eviscerate Hollywood during his fifth Golden Globes hosting gig.
Will Smith has announced his resignation from the Academy following his “shocking, painful, and inexcusable” actions at last weekend’s Oscars.
The actor said he was “heartbroken” and would accept any consequences that emerged from his scheduled disciplinary hearing, in a statement announcing his decision.
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It comes less than a week on from the ceremony, during which Smith took to the stage and slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.
Moments later he was awarded the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard and gave a tearful acceptance speech about the importance of protecting family.
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The Academy said it had received his resignation and would push forward with disciplinary proceedings against him, the details of which are to be discussed at a board meeting on 18 April.
On Friday, Smith apologised again to his fellow nominees and winners for having “deprived” them of the opportunity to celebrate their achievements on the night.
“I have directly responded to the Academy’s disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct,” he said in a statement.
“My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.
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“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.”
He added: “Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”
Will Smith accepts the award for Best Actor at this year’s Oscars.
ROBYN BECK via Getty Images
A subsequent statement from Academy president David Rubin said: “We have received and accepted Mr Will Smith’s immediate resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
“We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr Smith for violations of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18.”
At the meeting, Academy board members will discuss what disciplinary measures will be taken.
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Prior to his resignation, Hollywood trade outlet Variety reported that Smith met leaders of the Academy on Tuesday to discuss his outburst and apologised to Rubin and chief executive Dawn Hudson.
Showrunner Will Packer also told Good Morning America that the actor had called him the morning after the ceremony to apologise for the incident.
Packer also said he initially thought the incident was something Rock and Smith had planned together.
He said: “I thought this was part of something that Chris and Will were doing on their own, I thought it was a bit… like everybody else, I knew we hadn’t practised it.
“I wasn’t concerned at all (as Smith was walking on the stage). I figured OK, he’s going to say something or come at him, something funny is going to happen because that’s the nature of Chris and that’s the nature of Will, so let’s see what happens.
“Once I saw Will yelling at the stage with such vitriol my heart dropped and I just remember thinking ‘Oh no, not like this’.”
He also revealed that following the incident the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) had been “prepared” to arrest Smith, telling Rock he had been the victim of “battery”.
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The comedian had been “very dismissive” of the options given to him by LAPD officers and had “not wanted to make a bad situation worse,” Packer told the US show.
He said: “Shayla (Cowan, co-producer) told me that they were about to physically remove Will Smith and I had not been a part of those conversations.
“So I immediately went to the Academy leadership that was on site and I said, ‘Chris Rock doesn’t want that’.
“I said, ‘Rock has made it clear that he does not want to make a bad situation worse’. That was Chris’s energy. His tone was not retaliatory. His tone was not angry.
“So, I was advocating what Rock wanted at that time, which was not to physically remove Will Smith at that time. Because, as it had now been explained to me, that was the only option at that point.
“It has been explained to me that there was a conversation that I was not a part of, to ask him to voluntarily leave.”
Smith publicly apologised to Rock online after the incident, saying “violence in all its forms is poisonous and destructive”, and Pinkett Smith called for a “season of healing”.
“I was sickened by the standing ovation,” the “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” actor told CBS’s Gayle King. “I felt like Hollywood is just spineless en masse.”
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Just minutes after the incident at Sunday night’s ceremony, guests at the ceremony got to their feet when Will Smith won Best Actor for “King Richard.” In his acceptance speech, he apologized to the academy and fellow nominees for his behavior, rationalizing that “love will make you do crazy things.” He joked that he must “look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams,” whom he portrayed in “King Richard.” (Smith apologized to Rock on Monday.)
On Monday, King pointed out that anyone else besides Smith would’ve probably been escorted out after the assault or even arrested. Carrey said Smith “should have been,” but that Rock — who declined to press charges — simply didn’t want the hassle.
“I’d have announced this morning that I was suing Will for $200 million,” Carrey said. “That video is gonna be there forever. It’s gonna be ubiquitous. You know, that insult is gonna last a very long time.”
“You do not have the right to … smack somebody in the face because they said words,” Carrey continued, adding that it was “a selfish moment that cast a pall over the whole thing.”
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At the ceremony on Sunday, Will Smith walked onstage and hit Rock in the face after the comedian made the joke about his wife, who has opened up about her struggles with alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss. Smith shouted at Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth.”
Carrey isn’t the only comedian who has spoken out about the incident. Kathy Griffin and Patton Oswalt suggested that Smith’s actions could create open season on comics simply for telling jokes the audience doesn’t like.
Check out Carrey’s comments at the 3:10 mark:
Responses to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars have been divided — but Jenna Wortham (@jennydeluxe) says most people don’t have the full story of the incident.
“It’s something of a magnitude that I don’t think can be worked out on a public stage,” she says. pic.twitter.com/5qXIq30Y1F
For those yet to watch the clip, Rock made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, when he said he was “looking forward to seeing GI Jane 2”.
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Rock was apparently referencing the actress’ shaved head, which is a result of the hair loss condition, alopecia. Seconds later, Smith climbed onto the stage, slapped Rock and said: “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.”
Some have excused Smith’s actions, saying he was simply “defending his wife’s honour” – but that phrase in itself has left others feeling uncomfortable.
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Most of us will agree that there’s other ways to stand up for someone you love without resulting to physical violence. But it also raises the question: do women still need their “honour” defended by a man?
Do women need a man to defend their honor in the 21st century? #no
— Dr. Very Happy White Lady (@HappyWhiteLady) March 28, 2022
Plenty of people have praised the actor for stepping in to “defend” his wife.
Slightly confused as to why Will Smith is coming over as the bad boy in all this. I should be so lucky to have a man defend my honour. Chris Rock is a douche.
I don’t think Will Smith did anything wrong. If someone made a distasteful joke about my medical condition in front of him I would hope my husband would defend my honour.
But others have highlighted that Jada Pinkett Smith is a grown woman and perfectly capable of defending herself if she chooses to.
Future Publishing via Getty Images
Jada Pinkett Smith arrives on the red carpet before the 2022 Oscars ceremony.
Will Smith “defending” his wife, who is quite capable of defending herself. Noone checking to see if Chris Rock was ok after being hit. The slap already becoming a ‘meme’. There is so much wrong with this, on so many levels.
Can we also consider the fact Jada Smith is her own person, not ‘my wife’, and does not need some idiot to defend her honour. It was a bad joke at an awards show – not a physical attack. Grow the F up. And stop pretending your hurt is about her #WillSmith
Reinforces oldest narrative in world – that violence is the way to “defend honour” & woman’s “honour” is the preserve of man. Rock’s “joke” may have been in poor taste, but Smith could have used winner’s speech 2 call that out with dignity. Applauding assault condones. #WillSmith
So Will Smith physically assaults Chris Rock to defend ‘his wife’s honour’ or something like that. What is this, 1930?? Haven’t we had enough of hyper masculine violence already? Anyone else see the line connecting that assault to Putin beating up a defenseless country?
Later in the evening, Smith won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, in the biopic King Richard.
In his acceptance speech, he apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees for his behaviour, adding: “I look like the crazy father, just like what they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things.”
But his words only sparked further criticism.
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I mainly tweet about books so you might wonder why I’m so angry about the Will Smith Oscar assault, but his acceptance speech reads like the excuses given to every victim of DV: love makes us do crazy things. It’s because I love that I hit. And he gets a standing ovation?! FFS
Will Smith trying to spin a narrative of “love will make you do crazy things.” No. Unchecked toxic masculinity and a lack of accountability will make you do/say crazy things. (True for Chris Rock, too). #Oscars
But one thing is clear: the headlines this morning are all focused on Chris Rock and Will Smith. The woman at the heart of this story, Jada Pinkett Smith, has been erased in all the drama.
And you know who’s left dealing with the emotional fallout of both the hurtful joke and the unacceptable punch? Jada Pinkett Smith. Thinking of her today.
