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Will Smith’s behaviour at the Oscars ‘cannot be ignored’
Will Smith’s outburst at the Oscars “sets a dangerous precedent” if the police and the Academy don’t act, this employment lawyer argued.
Lauren Croft
At the Oscars Awards ceremony on Monday (28 March), actor Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock after he made a joke about Mr Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia.
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Minutes later, Mr Smith won best actor for his role in King Richard – something which Samantha Mangwana, head of employment law at Shine Lawyers, said sends a worrying message.
“Despite being filmed physically assaulting a performer for doing their job, Will Smith subsequently won the highest honour in his profession and was allowed to celebrate his success at lavish parties.
“The police have reportedly declined to prosecute because the victim hasn’t pressed charges, but this incident was broadcast to millions of people around the world and therefore cannot be ignored,” she said.
“Pretending what happened is no big deal sets a dangerous precedent for the victim of the next act of violence to be caught on camera.”
In his acceptance speech, Mr Smith apologised to the Academy and peers for the outburst – but not Mr Rock. Whilst the police have not yet received a police report from Mr Rock, the organisers of the Oscars have announced the beginnings of a formal review.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said it “condemns the actions of Mr Smith”.
“We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law,” the Academy stated.
“This was not a sexual assault but it shares some of the same features of that crime like the abuse of power, the pressure on the victim not to make a complaint, and the inaction of bystanders. For the past four years, Hollywood has been the focus of the #MeToo movement but real cultural change is needed for the idea to be more than a hashtag,” Ms Mangwana added.
“That means addressing the pervasive harms done mainly to women but also to men and calling out unacceptable conduct when it occurs – especially when it happens in front of a live audience.
“Will Smith is a talented and charismatic actor but we can’t have one set of rules for people we like and another for those we dislike. If an apparent criminal assault happened at a work event, an employer must respond and the police must act.”
