Police 'ready to arrest' Smith after Oscar slap: producer

LOS ANGELES, United States - Police officers were ready to arrest Will Smith after he attacked comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars, the show's producer said Thursday.

In his first public comments since the shocking episode that marred Hollywood's most important evening, Will Packer said he had sat with Rock when officers came to speak to him.

"They were saying, you know, this is battery.... They said we will go get him, we are prepared, we are prepared to get him right now, you can press charges, we can arrest him, you have -- they were laying out the options," Packer told ABC Television.

"Chris was -- he was being very dismissive of those options. He was like, 'I'm fine.'"

Los Angeles police "officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, 'You know, would you like us to take any action?' and he said 'No.'"

Police in Los Angeles said Sunday that Rock had declined to file a report.

Smith shocked the entertainment world by mounting the stage during the live broadcast of the Oscars and hitting Rock over a joke about the actor's wife.

Half an hour later, Smith was awarded the best actor Oscar for his role in "King Richard" -- the movie industry's highest honor for a male performer.

The announcement was greeted with cheers and applause from the crowd of industry insiders.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that awards the Oscars, said Wednesday Smith had been asked to leave the ceremony after the assault, but had refused.

Conflicting reports emerged Thursday over that detail, including one that suggested Packer had asked him to remain in the Dolby Theatre.

In the brief clip, aired Thursday on ABC ahead of the full interview scheduled for Friday, Packer denied having spoken to Smith.

ZOOM MEETING

The Academy said Wednesday it was mulling punishment -- including possible expulsion -- for Smith, one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, and only the fifth Black man to win a leading actor Oscar.

"The Board of Governors today initiated disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Will Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct, including inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the Academy," the statement said. 

"The Academy may take any disciplinary action, which may include suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions."

Trade title Variety reported Thursday that Academy chiefs Dawn Hudson and David Rubin spoke with Smith on Tuesday, 24 hours before the organization issued its damning statement.

It quoted sources saying the Zoom meeting had lasted up to 30 minutes.

During the conversation Smith apologized for his attack on Rock, and said he was aware there would be consequences, Variety reported.

Smith issued an Instagram apology on Monday, in which he called his behavior "unacceptable and inexcusable."

"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."

Rock, whose US comedy tour began in Boston this week told audience members he was "still kind of processing" the incident.

He made no further comment.

Agence France-Presse

Celebrities react to Will Smith's Oscars outburst

LONDON — Best actor winner Will Smith shocked audiences when he smacked presenter Chris Rock in the face and shouted vulgarity at the comedian for making a joke about his wife's hairstyle in a moment overshadowing the Oscars ceremony on Sunday.

Below are some of the reactions from celebrities on social media.

RAPPER AND ACTOR, JADEN SMITH, SON OF WILL SMITH AND JADA PINKETT SMITH:

"And That’s How We Do It."

ACTRESS MIA FARROW:

"It was just a joke. Jokes are what Chris Rock does. Always has been edgy. This was a mild joke for him. And I love GI Jane"

COMEDIAN KATHY GRIFFIN:

"Let me tell you something, it’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a comedian. Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters."

ACTRESS SOPHIA BUSH:

"Violence isn’t ok. Assault is never the answer. Also? This is the 2nd time that Chris has made fun of Jada on the #Oscars stage, & tonight he went after her alopecia. Punching down at someone’s auto-immune disease is wrong. Doing so on purpose is cruel. They both need a breather."

TALK SHOW HOST CONAN O'BRIEN:

"Just saw the Will Smith slap. Anyone have a late night show I can borrow just for tomorrow?"

FILMMAKER ROB REINER:

"Will Smith owes Chris Rock a huge apology. There is no excuse for what he did. He’s lucky Chris is not filing assault charges."

AUTHOR BERNARDINE EVARISTO:

"What a thing to wake up to. Only the fifth black man in nearly 100 years to win an Oscar for male lead, and the first in 16 years, resorts to violence instead of utilizing the power of words to slay Chris Rock. Then he claims God and Love made him do it."

ACTRESS AND MODEL JODIE TURNER-SMITH:

"and as far as *that incident* goes….. i am still processing. I have second hand embarrassment for all involved."

ACTOR CARY ELWES:

The "vessels of love" I have known or admired never acted violently against another human being…"

-reuters

Chris Rock confronts race row head-on at Oscars

HOLLYWOOD | Oscars host Chris Rock hit early and hard Sunday on a race row overshadowing Hollywood’s biggest night, mercilessly ribbing both the movie industry and its critics.

The comedian wasted no time raising the controversy over the 88th Academy Awards’ lack of African American acting nominees, addressing the issue from his first words and discussing virtually nothing else in his monologue.

“Hey! Well, I’m here at the Academy Awards — otherwise known as the white People’s Choice awards,” he said, after joking that the introductory montage had at least 15 black people.

Rock questioned why the 88th edition of the Oscars drew so much controversy, guessing that black nominees were similarly absent most years.

African Americans did not protest most years because they were “too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer,” he said.

“You know, when your grandmother’s swinging from a tree, it’s really hard to care about best documentary foreign short,” he quipped.

The energetic 51-year-old funnyman, sporting a white dinner jacket, shot down activists who urged him to boycott the Oscars in solidarity with black actors.

“They’re not going to cancel the Oscars because I quit, you know? And the last thing I need is to lose another job to Kevin Hart,” Rock said in reference to a fellow black comic, suggesting he was selected as host due to his race.

Rock enjoyed consistent applause for his monologue, even as he savaged some big names in Hollywood.

He suggested that Jada Pinkett Smith joined the boycott by African Americans because her husband, actor and rapper Will Smith, was not nominated for “Concussion.”

“Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties,” he said, referring to the sultry singer. “I wasn’t invited.”

Yet Rock also made clear that there were true concerns for the community, pointing to the string of police killings of African Americans that have triggered the Black Lives Matter protest movement.

“This year, in the ‘In Memoriam’ package, it’s just going to be black people that were shot on their way to the movies,” he said, referring to the customary Oscars tribute to deceased cinema figures.

source: interaksyon.com

#OscarsSoWhite creator says she will not watch Oscars

NEW YORK | The creator of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag on Twitter on Saturday said she will watch and tweet about a 1999 coming-of-age movie featuring three black actors rather than Sunday night’s showing of the Academy Awards, joining a growing list of activists and entertainers snubbing the event for its lack of diversity.

April Reign, managing editor of BroadwayBlack.com, said she will watch “The Wood,” starring Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones and Taye Diggs on Netflix on Sunday night as the Oscars show airs on ABC.

Reign, the keynote speaker on Saturday at “The #BlackTwitter Conference” at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, is credited with launching the hashtag in January after last year’s nominees best actor nominees were published.

“What I’m doing is attempting to amplify the discussion,” Reign said at Saturday’s conference, hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists. “The Academy can only nominate quality work that is made, so the onus still has to be on Hollywood to put those films out there.”

Reign said she launched the tag initially as a joke, but it quickly went viral and has become a major venue for discussing race and Hollywood.

The furor over the all-white line up of best-actor nominees prompted several big-name boycott announcements. Spike Lee, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith all said they will not attend.

Directors Ava Duvernay and Ryan Coogler, who was snubbed for a best director nomination for his Rocky sequel “Creed” even as Sylvester Stallone earned a best-supporting actor nomination, are planning to host the #JusticeForFlint benefit concert in Flint, Michigan, in support of residents suffering from its water crisis.

Business mogul Russell Simmons has partnered with Fusion to launch the first-ever “All Def Movie Awards,” which aims to celebrate diversity in film.

#BlackTwitter16, the tag associated with Saturday’s conference at Columbia, was among the top-trending hashtags on Twitter.

“Black Twitter has gone from being seen as these frivolous conversations that black people are having at night,” said Sherri Williams, a post-doctoral fellow and professor at Wake Forest University who was among the panelist at the conference. “Now it’s an entity that people are taking seriously.”

source: interaksyon.com