Now Accepting Resignations From the Academy
The Oscars fiasco involved a lot of people who should have done things differently.
Before he could be slapped (pun intended) with disciplinary actions following his live outburst, Will Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. It was an anticlimactic end to a bizarre incident that still has people taking sides.
In truth, there should be a lot more fallout from the evening’s ridiculous chain of events, and more people should be turning in their resignations. Actually, whole bunches of people should be handing over their Academy cards or cutting their association with the Academy, along with the insanely expensive swag bags guests received on Oscar night. $25,000 worth of home renovations for people who can probably afford homes that cost $25,000 per square foot? Give me a break.
These people have to go
The Academy’s board of governors. Initially, they said that Smith was asked to leave after his actions, but he refused. Not long after that statement, they claimed he was going to be removed, but Rock didn’t want that. Then the Hollywood Reporter quoted a source as saying that Smith was never asked to leave because the producers thought he should stay.
Maybe the Academy should have gotten its story straight before talking with the media. Which brings us to the next group that should be given the boot:
The crisis communications team for the Oscars. There are people who are paid, quite handsomely, to anticipate and handle situations such as this. While they’re probably not thinking, “We should plan for one of the celebrities to physically assault another one,” crisis PR professionals are supposed to be ready for anything that might happen with a succinct and logical plan designed to diffuse as much negative press as possible.
The crisis PR group for the Academy should have been meeting via Zoom or Slack 5 minutes after Smith’s outburst. They should have formulated a plan and created a basic outline of what would need to be said and by whom. Instead, we got three different versions of the story all within a week of each other. It’s like a little kid who tells one story to his parents, realizes he's caught in a lie, and then embellishes the story into something else. Your nose is growing, kid, why don’t you tell the truth?
Here’s one truth that came out of PR efforts following the Oscars: Producer Will Packer admitted to Good Morning America that the whole situation was poorly handled. You got that right.
Whoever was in charge of commercial breaks. A really good time to cut to a commercial would have been right after Smith strutted up to the stage and slapped Rock upside the head. The at-home audience would have missed Smith’s swearing and threatening tone, and that would have been just fine. Had the slap been the only thing they’d seen, they might have even thought it was planned.
It was unfair to leave Rock standing onstage alone, Smith’s handprint still fresh on his face. No one came to make sure he was okay; no one thought, “This would be a nice time to cut live action and handle the situation while TV viewers discussed it amongst themselves over a break.” Instead, you can imagine everyone involved standing with their mouths agape, frozen in a state of panic.
Anyone in the audience who gave Smith a standing ovation. Yes, it was awkward that Smith’s name was called as Best Actor after what had transpired. But the knee-jerk reaction shouldn’t have been to stand up and applaud. If the slap weren’t bad enough, the fact that he went back to his seat and yelled to Rock to “keep my wife’s name out your f-ing mouth” - twice - should have sealed the deal for everyone in the crowd. If his name is called, sit on your hands. If you must clap, for heaven’s sake, don’t do it standing up.
But there they were, oohing over a speech in which Smith claimed he was “overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world.” Uh, was God calling you to do what you did 15 minutes ago, Will?
“I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people,” he continued. What does any of that have to do with “King Richard,” the movie for which he won an Oscar for Best Actor? Nothing, really, and so why are you people standing? Turn in your Academy membership cards immediately.
Jada Pinkett Smith. Let’s start by saying she looked amazing. Her closely shorn hair, her makeup, her dress all worked together to create a beautiful package. Not everyone can pull off the look that she did.
So what was so wrong with Rock’s G.I. Jane joke? It didn't mock her alopecia. It didn’t suggest she wasn’t beautiful. At the most, it maybe wasn't that funny. Although Will Smith thought it was a knee-slapper…until he looked at Jada’s face.
That face must be code in the Smith house for mama ain’t happy and you’d better do something about it, because her husband immediately stopped smiling and started slapping and swearing. That was not a good look for either one of them.
These people can stay
Denzel Washington. Until further notice, he is the embodiment of poise, grace and levelheadedness.
Chris Rock. You don’t have to like his brand of comedy to appreciate the way he handled being slapped and trash-talked by Smith. And he continues to take the high road in his comedy shows, refusing to discuss the incident and cutting off hecklers in the crowd who hope to get him riled enough to go off on Smith. Now he deserves a standing ovation.
Wanda Sykes and most of the comic community. Sykes, one of three cohosts of the 2022 Oscars, was quick to call the slap “gross” and to defend Rock. Billy Crystal, still one of the all-time best hosts of Oscar telecasts, called the slap “an assault.” Jim Carrey was “sickened” by the standing ovation Smith got when he one Best Actor. You guys can stay, and keep telling jokes so the rest of us don’t lose our minds.
Did I miss anyone who should be kicked off or allowed to stay? Comment below.
The undue emphasis society places on celebrities & athletes as role models and influencers is frightening. The entire entertainment industry perpetuates a cult of personality — usually well-curated images of lives, both good and bad. Even the people paid to handle such a crisis seem to have been paralyzed by this off-script assault of one and unraveling persona of another. They should be fired.
More focus should be made on how Chris Rock moved forward in the moment and so far. That is where the standing ovation is due.
This is so interesting. I listened recently to Russell Brand’s podcast where he posed the same point -- when you think about this deep enough the whole idea of the Academy becomes laughable.