Oscars Response to Will Smith Slap Was Not Swift Enough, Academy President Admits

Janet Yang, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), admitted Monday at the start of the 2023 Oscars Nominees Luncheon that the organization did not properly handle the fallout of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony.

The event was attended by multiple-time winners like Steven Spielberg, Roger Deakins, and Justin Hurwitz. There were multiple-time nominees such as Tom Cruise, Michelle Williams, Sarah Polley, Rian Johnson, Mary Zophres, and Diane Warren. There were first-time nominees Brandon Fraser, Hong Chau, Austin Butler, Ke Huy Quan, and Paul Mescal.

“I’m sure you all remember we experienced an unprecedented event at the Oscars,” Yang told attendees. 

She added: “What happened onstage was fully unacceptable and the response from our organization was inadequate. We learned from this that the Academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions, and particularly in times of crisis you must act swiftly, compassionately, and decisively for ourselves and for our industry. You should and can expect no less form us going forward.”

Smith took to the stage during the 2022 Oscars and slapped Rock across the face while the latter was presenting the best documentary feature category. Rock a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith being in “G.I. Jane” because of her shaved head.

Pinkett Smith announced last year she shaved her head after struggling with alopecia.

After the slap, Smith stormed onstage to strike Rock before returning to his seat and yelling at Rock to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth. The ceremony continued with Smith remaining in attendance as he won the best actor Oscar for his performance in “King Richard”.

The 2022 Oscars aired at the end of March. Smith resigned from the Academy on April 1, writing in a statement, “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.”

It took several more days for the Academy to announce it was revoking Smith’s AMPAS membership and banning him from attending any of the event for 10 years.

“The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage,” the Academy said in an April 8 statement. 

“During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.”

Smith apologized again for his actions in a July 2022 video post in which he revealed, “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk, and when he is, he will reach out.”