Will Smith, Sunday won his first Academy award as the 2022 best actor Oscar for his role in King Richard, but may face disciplinary action by the Academy for slapping Chris Rock at the award ceremony.
There are indications that the slap, which got the world talking and overshadowed the 94th Academy Awards is far from being swept under the red carpet.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Oscars, said it had launched a formal review into the incident and fans are wondering: could Smith be stripped of his Oscar?
A meeting is slated later this week for the Academy to determine if action will be taken against the Oscar winner over the incident.
You would recall that Actor Will Smith attacked Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at the ceremony.
The joke appeared to reference Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, an auto-immune disease that causes hair loss. This led to Will Smith walking straight to him on stage and slapping him across the face.
The Academy prohibits uninvited physical contact and according to the association’s bylaws, disciplinary action could include “suspension of membership or expulsion from membership”.
Whoopi Goldberg, actor and member of the Academy’s board of governors, however dismissed on Monday, a possible withdrawal of the award from Will,: “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’ll do.”
