Just four days ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Will Smith is banned from attending future Academy Awards ceremonies – or any other Academy events – for the next ten years, in light of him slapping Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony.
Also due to Smith’s outburst during the Oscars, according to the Guardian, multiple films and projects that Smith was attached to are now being stalled; with some under the threat of being cancelled altogether.
While I don’t condone Smith’s act of violence, it seems that he’s swiftly being ‘cancelled’ and is facing serious repercussions. This highlights how hypocritical Hollywood can be.
Where was all this energy when Chris Brown pleaded guilty to physically assaulting Rihanna in 2009? Despite admitting that he beat his then-girlfriend, to the point that she had two contusions and an extremely bloody and bruised nose and lips, on the eve of the Grammys, Brown was never banned from attending the prestigious music award ceremony.
Plus, the rapper/singer has repeatedly been accused of alleged assaults and rapes over the years by multiple different women and yet, as of 2022, Brown has won 124 awards – including a Grammy for Best R&B Album in 2012 – and is considered one of the world’s best-selling artists – the last album he released, Indigo, in 2019, reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.
Similarly, Louis C.K. just recently won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album despite the fact that in 2017 he admitted that several sexual misconduct allegations made against him were true. Why have Brown’s and C.K.’s – among countless other celebrities who have been accused of/admitted to wrongdoing – careers still flourished? Why wasn’t Brown or C.K. banned from attending award ceremonies when they admitted to doing things much worse than Smith’s slap?
You could argue that Smith is facing more backlash than either of those two men ever received because he hit Rock during a live broadcast for the entire world to see. However, let’s not forget that in 2003, when Adrien Brody won the Oscar for Best Actor, he grabbed Halle Berry – who was presenting him with the award – and kissed her.
The moment went viral and yet Brody has continued to have a successful career and was never banned from attending the Academy Awards, even though what he did to Berry during the Oscars ceremony that was broadcast live around the world can be considered as sexual assault. And before you say, ‘well maybe it wasn’t sexual assault, maybe Berry knew about the kiss and it was planned’ – it wasn’t.
Berry told Andy Cohen during an episode of Watch What Happens Live in 2017 that her reaction at the time of the unwarranted kiss was, “What the f**k is happening?”
A similar incident involving Jim Carrey forcibly kissing Alicia Silverstone when he received an award at the 1997 MTV Movie Awards was also broadcast live; and yet Carrey – who is one of the celebrities who have condemned Smith for his Oscars slap – still had an incredible career after doing so.
Many have taken to Twitter to voice their outrage at the hypocrisy of how Smith’s career is quickly taking a dive when so many other stars have continued to thrive despite doing “much worse.”
“This is 100% racially motivated. Jim Carrey sexually assaulted a woman live on stage and she was visually distressed. Will Smith slaps a dude for mocking an illness and gets banned for a decade.”
Twitter user @somari8591
Ultimately, it’s clear that Hollywood really needs to get its priorities in order and hold ALL celebrities accountable for their actions.
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