Will Smith Gets 10-Year Oscars' Ban for Slapping Chris Rock

The slap heard, and seen, around much of the world, continues to have new ramifications for embattled Oscar winner Will Smith. 

Friday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' board of governors handed the actor a 10-year ban from attending the ceremony. It was the first punitive action taken by anybody, including the Los Angeles Police Department, against the star.

Smith, 53, walked onstage and struck Rock during the March 27 ceremony for telling a bald joke about the rapper-turned-actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss on the scalp and elsewhere.

'I accept and respect the Academy’s decision,' Will Smith said in response to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences banning him from attending Oscars and other Academy events for 10 years https://t.co/H8Oq2EECSA pic.twitter.com/O0scK2tcq0

— Reuters Showbiz (@ReutersShowbiz) April 8, 2022

Rock, 57, was approached by officers from the LAPD after the slap. He declined to press charges, and moments later Smith returned to the stage to accept his first Oscar, on his third nomination, for his performance as the father of tennis icons Serena and Venus William in the biopic about his life, "King Richard."

By the following day, Smith had left a long and seemingly heartfelt apology on Instagram.

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A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith)

"Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally," the post read.

Chris Rock made fun of Jada and Will Smith got on stage to slap him and cursed him from his seat after. Live feed stopped on Astro because. Not scripted. Audience stunned. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/F5dN4prPfY

— 𝗔𝘆𝘀𝗵𝗮 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝘇𝘂𝗮𝗻 (@ayshardzn) March 28, 2022

"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. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness."

 

It continued, "I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress."

While Rock has remained mum on the subject, refusing to talk about the incident, the apology proved lacking to the Academy which said in a letter sent by President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson, the organization decided "for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards."

"This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith's behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted," the statement continued. 

Smith's response to the judgment was swift and simple. 

"I accept and respect the Academy's decision," he told Page Six Friday.

Accepting his punishment without a fight was not enough to end the drama for Smith, who can still be nominated for his work. Over the weekend, several prominent entertainment voices were speaking out in favor of more severe punishment. 

Harry Lennix, an actor known for his bit roles in movies like "Ray" and "Justice League," as well as a plethora of roles across his career on the stage and television screen, went so far as to write a guest column for Variety urging Smith to voluntarily return his Oscar statuette for best actor.

"At this point, the only person who can redeem the integrity of the Oscars is Smith himself," Lennix, 53, wrote, adding, "Smith's brutality stripped the entire evening of its prestige."

"The stain on the Motion Picture Academy cannot be easily remediated. The only hope for a justifiable grace must involve Smith voluntarily returning his award for best actor," he added.

Kidd Creole Convicted of Manslaughter in 2017 Stabbing

©Instagram @thekiddcreole

 

Kidd Creole, a rap pioneer and a founding member of one of its seminal, groups, was found guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday.

The 62-year-old rapper, whose real name is Nathaniel Glover, was facing a murder charge in the 2017 death of John Jolly, a homeless New Yorker who was stabbed twice in the chest with a steak knife in midtown Manhattan.

During the month-long trial, Glover's attorney claimed that the stabbing was self-defense. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 4.

Prosecutors alleged Glover stabbed Jolly, 55, after becoming enraged because he thought Jolly was gay and hitting on him during a confrontation between the two men, captured on video, in August 2017.

After Glover Passed Jolly on the street, the two exchanged words, and Glover squared up to him chest-to-chest before stabbing him twice in the torso. A group of tourists found Jolly, and he was taken to a hospital where he died of his wounds.

Rapper Kid Creole was convicted of manslaughter in the stabbing death of a homeless man on a Manhattan sidewalk nearly five years ago. https://t.co/X4fJuznlaJ

— The Advocate (@TheAdvocateMag) April 8, 2022

According to prosecutors, Glover was working as a handyman and security guard near the scene of the stabbing. He rushed two blocks to work, changed clothes and cleaned the knife before leaving 15 minutes later to dump it in a sewer near a Bronx subway station where it was later found by police.

He was arrested the next day.

Glover was a co-founder of the rap group Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. Consisting of Glover, his brother Melle Mel, DJ Grandmaster Flash, Keith Cowboy, Scorpio (aka Mr. Ness) and Rahiem, the Bronx-based group helped guide the formation of hip-hop as an art form in the late 1970s.

Their 1982 hit song, "The Message,” is one of the most influential pieces of the period, combining social commentary with catchy beats in a way that was later emulated by predecessors, such as Public Enemy and KRS-One, and remains a hallmark of rap today.

In 2007, they became the first hip-hop group to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmed to Supreme Court

Courtesy @Potus Instagram

President Joe Biden and Judge Kentanji Brown take a photo

as Jackson was confirmed to the Supreme Court on Thursday,

April 7.

Ketanji Brown Jackson made history Thursday afternoon when a historic vote by the Senate made her the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court.

The Senate vote was 53-47 in favor of confirming Jackson to the Supreme Court. Every member of the Democrat caucus joined just three Republicans — Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah —in making her the 116th justice to serve on the court.

Jackson, whose nomination to the court was made by President Joe Biden in February, following Associate Justice Stephen Breyer's announcement he would retire at the end of the current court term, was criticized heavily by Republicans during the seven-week nomination process.

Opponents focused on a supposed record of leniency towards child sex offenders, a criticism that was widely refuted by those in legal circles, her defenders and even some Republican lawmakers, who had supported her previous appointments.

Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic moment for our nation. We’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honored to share this moment with her. pic.twitter.com/K8SAh25NL5

— President Biden (@POTUS) April 7, 2022

"Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic moment for our nation," Biden tweeted after the vote. "We’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honored to share this moment with her."

It will be months before the judge formally takes her seat on the bench when Breyer officially steps down. When she does, she will be the first federal public defender to sit on the high court, and it will mark the first time the court's nine-member bench will include two Black justices.

Of the 115 justices in the Supreme Court's 233-year history, 108 have been white men. Only five have been women, and three have been people of color.