 "Will Smith’s Oscar ban is nothing, but a joke")
Will Smith certainly has nothing to worry about since Chris Rock whom he slapped at the Oscars ceremony last month is not pressing any charges; at least not for now, you never know about the future.
The ban imposed by the Academy Awards is very frankly a joke. Outwardly the declaration—that Will Smith has been banned from the Oscars for ten years– sounds unnerving. What it actually means is that the King Richard Oscar winner won’t be allowed to attend the Oscars ceremony for ten years. This means Will can win the Oscar but he won’t be able to collect it personally on stage.So, in theory, his wife Jada can attend on his behalf and collect the trophy if she, or he, wishes. She can also give his thank you speech on his behalf which, if they so wish can begin with, “Dear honourable members of the Academy Awards jury. Thank you for giving me this award in spite of the slapping incident in 2022…”
To not attend the Oscar ceremony for ten years and to still be eligible for nomination, is not a punishment. It is a blessing. Think of how much Smith saves on commuting and on laundry bills: Will Smith gives his thank you speech from home on a video call without having to travel to the venue, wearing only the upper portion of his tuxedo. Years ago, Anupam Kher had been banned from Stardust after having slapped an errant reporter. He was most relieved to not be featured in the magazine.
The ‘punishment’ for Will Smith seems a sop, a mere token to appease those who are baying for his blood in what seems like one of the worst cases of mob lynching in recent years. Many, including yours truly, believe that the organizers of the awards function were clued in to Chris Rock’s “joke”. For those who came in late, the infamous slap happened on March 27, 2022, during the live television broadcast of the 94th Academy Awards when stand-up comedian and host for the evening Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith’s wife Jada’s Pinkett Smith’s hair-loss which was caused by a medical condition.
While Chris’ joke was in bad taste, the joke was forgotten. The slap that Will Smith planted on Chris’ cheek for insulting his wife, has over the weeks since the incident become super-contentious. But one thing is for sure that Will Smith made history on that evening in more ways than one.
Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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