Oscars slap

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Chris Rock Gets Ready to Discuss 'The Slap'

Comedian will do so in a live Netflix special on Saturday night

(Newser) - Ever since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars last year, Rock has held off on talking about it in front of a wide public audience. That changes in a big way this weekend, when Rock's Saturday night show in Baltimore will be live-streamed on Netflix, per the...

After Slap, Oscars Team 'Prepared for Anything'

Crisis response team has 'run many scenarios,' has plans in place, says Academy CEO Bill Kramer

(Newser) - It was the slap heard round the world —and it's still reverberating. In an effort to avoid another Will Smith-Chris Rock fiasco at the March 12 Oscars, a crisis team will be in place and "prepared for anything," Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy of Motion...

Will Smith Gives First Interview on 'Horrific Night' at Oscars

Actor talks about 'the slap' with Trevor Noah: 'I just, I lost it'

(Newser) - Chris Rock hasn't spoken much, other than a few jokes , on "the slap" —the moment at the Oscars ceremony earlier this year when Will Smith attacked the comedian. Smith, however, is now speaking more openly about it, in his first interview about what he describes as a...

Responding to One Controversy, Chris Rock Creates Another

Comedian references Will Smith slap with joke about Nicole Brown Simpson, which didn't go well

(Newser) - Chris Rock won't be back to host the Oscars next year, at least according to his own telling, and yes, it appears to be linked to "the slap." The 57-year-old comedian performed Sunday night at Phoenix's Arizona Financial Theatre, which is where he informed the crowd...

You Won't See Will Smith at the Oscars for 10 Years

But academy's board does not strip him of his award

(Newser) - This year's Oscar for best actor will remain in the hands of Will Smith. The board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its punishment Friday for his infamous slap of Chris Rock , and it does not involve stripping him of his statuette. Instead,...

Chris Rock's Brother: Here's What Should Happen to Will Smith

Kenny Rock wants Smith's Oscar taken away, among other things

(Newser) - As far as Chris Rock's brother is concerned, the Academy Award Will Smith won shortly after slapping Rock onstage at the Oscars should be revoked, and Smith should be banned from attending future ceremonies. "I might have looked at it differently had he initially apologized when he got...

There Was No Escaping the Slap on SNL

Will Smith-Chris Rock incident gets the 'Saturday Night Live' treatment

(Newser) - If you've grown weary of the seemingly wall-to-wall coverage of the notorious Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscar slap , Saturday Night Live offered little respite. The April 2 episode, which featured comedian/actor Jerrod Carmichael as host and musical guest Gunna, served up its take on the incident "again and again...

'Nobody Comes Out of This Looking Good'
'Nobody Comes Out
of This Looking Good'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 2, 2022 5:20 PM CDT

'Nobody Comes Out of This Looking Good'

Smith's slap overshadowed 'what should have been one of the greatest nights of his life'

(Newser) - It's being called the "slap heard around the world"—after presenter Chris Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith's lack of hair at the Oscars Sunday night, Will Smith slapped him and shouted, twice, "Keep my wife's name out of your f---ing mouth!" Some...

Will Smith Resigns From Academy
Will Smith Resigns
From Academy 
Apr 1, 2022 6:55 PM CDT

Will Smith Resigns From Academy

Board says disciplinary process will continue

(Newser) - Facing an investigation and a disciplinary hearing over his assault of comedian Chris Rock on the Oscars stage, actor Will Smith has resigned as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In a statement issued Friday, Smith apologized for his behavior Sunday and said he'll...

Chris Rock Was 'Dismissive' of LAPD Arresting Will Smith

Meanwhile, Smith's apology call to Academy leadership is causing yet more controversy

(Newser) - After the Oscars slap heard 'round the world, Los Angeles Police Department officers approached Chris Rock and made it clear they would arrest Will Smith if that's what he wanted, according to an Academy Awards producer who sat down for an interview with Good Morning America that was...

Famed Director Was Seated Near the Slap: His View

Pedro Almodovar blasts Will Smith for talking like a 'cult leader' in his acceptance speech

(Newser) - Director Pedro Almodovar attended the Academy Awards this year and wrote an Oscar-night diary for IndieWire . It would be interesting reading for movie fans in any year as he talks about his run-ins with celebs including Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, and Al Pacino, and carps about the cold temperature in...

Daniel Radcliffe Says What Everyone's Thinking About the Slap

'I'm just so already dramatically bored of hearing people's opinions about it'

(Newser) - Daniel Radcliffe appeared on a British morning show Thursday and, like every celebrity who shows up anywhere these days, he was asked about Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock. The Harry Potter actor, however, just wasn't going there. "I saw it," he said on Good Morning ...

What Chris Rock Said at His Show in Boston Tonight

Comedian didn't fully address the Oscars incident, but said he will eventually

(Newser) - Chris Rock took the stage for the first time since Will Smith slapped him in the face on live television at the Academy Awards, and he told a sold-out crowd at Boston's Wilbur theater that he's "still kind of processing what happened," and that while he...

Academy Says Will Smith Refused to Leave Ceremony

Board of governors condemns 'deeply shocking, traumatic event'

(Newser) - Update: This story has been updated with new developments. Will Smith remained sitting in the front row at the Oscars after he slapped Chris Rock on Sunday night, but he was no longer a welcome guest, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says. The Academy said Wednesday that...

Slap Was a Massive Boost for Chris Rock's Comedy Tour

Ticket reseller said there were more sales overnight than in the previous month

(Newser) - Being slapped in the face at the Oscars isn't the ideal way to get exposure, but the headline-making Sunday incident definitely seems to have helped ticket sales for Chris Rock's comedy tour. Rock is scheduled to play six shows in Boston Wednesday through Friday before his Ego Death...

Jada Pinkett Smith Breaks Silence After Slap

'This is a season for healing,' she writes

(Newser) - Jada Pinkett Smith has issued her first public comment since her husband's infamous Oscars slap of Chris Rock. "This is a season for healing and I'm here for it," she wrote on Instagram, per CNN . And that's it from her, for now. The line is...

'I Was Wrong,' Will Smith Tells Chris Rock in Post

Support and backlash are circulating after Oscar-winning actor slapped comedian onstage

(Newser) - Update: This file has been updated to include Will Smith's online post Monday. Will Smith has written a public apology to Chris Rock for slapping him Sunday night during the Academy Awards ceremony, Variety reports. "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris," says the Instagram...

Comedians Speak Out Against Will Smith Slap

'What you saw on TV was a guy with real issues,' says Howard Stern

(Newser) - Chris Rock isn't pressing charges after being slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars on Sunday night—but if the case went to a jury of the two men's celebrity peers, it would likely be very difficult to reach a verdict. Some, especially comedians, slammed Smith's behavior...

After Oscars Uproar, New Focus on Jada's Hair-Loss Disorder

Jada Pinkett Smith has long talked about her struggles with alopecia

(Newser) - Whether people are falling on the side of #TeamRock or #TeamSmith after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday night, there seems to be nearly universal support for Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who was the subject of Rock's joke about her shaved head that...

Shocking Moment at Oscars Between Will Smith, Chris Rock
Will Smith Slaps
Chris Rock at Oscars
academy awards
Mar 27, 2022 10:37 PM CDT

Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock at Oscars

After joke about Jada Pinkett Smith

(Newser) - A 94th Academy Awards that steadily maintained a buoyant spirit was rocked by an unbelievable exchange after Will Smith took offense to a joke made by Chris Rock about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. After Rock joked to Pinkett Smith that he was looking forward to a sequel to GI ...

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