Will Smith — Academy President Says Initial Response To Actor’s Oscars Slap Was ‘Inadequate’

Will Smith

Will Smith — Academy President Says Initial Response To Actor’s Oscars Slap Was ‘Inadequate’

It seems like Will Smith’s infamous slap is still the talk of the entertainment industry.

Janet Yang, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said that the organization’s response to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars was “inadequate.”

According to reports, the notorious Oscars slap that took place at last year’s awards ceremony was addressed at the Oscar nominees’ luncheon on Monday (February 13) by Janet Yang. While addressing the ballroom, the 66-year-old academy president revisited the incident without directly mentioning actor Will Smith or comedian Chris Rock.

Will Smith, Chris Rock

During her opening remarks, Janet Yang reportedly told the crowd,

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

She continued,

“What happened onstage was fully unacceptable and the response from our organization was inadequate.”

Yang added,

“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 from us going forward.”

As you may recall, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock across the face during last year’s Oscars telecast for joking about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss. Smith also profanely warned Rock not to mention his wife’s name again. He was allowed to stay in the auditorium, and later won the Best Actor award for his work in the film “King Richard.”

Will Smith just punched Chris Rock and told him "keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth" pic.twitter.com/YK5aQqv89t

— BACKUP ACCOUNT (@JasmineBrandTHE) March 28, 2022

Apparently, the academy did little in response to Smith, 54, storming the stage and slapping Rock, 58, in the immediate aftermath. However, nearly two weeks later, its board of governors voted to ban Smith from the Oscars and all other academy events for 10 years, reports state. Smith already had preemptively resigned as an academy member.

Yang, who was not president at the time, was elected president of the academy in August. During her sentiments, she was reportedly interrupted by a mild round of applause and did not elaborate further on the incident.

Will Smith

What are your thoughts on the academy’s response to Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap? Share it with us below! 

[Sources: 1, 2]