Yesterday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences revealed it had asked Will Smith to leave the Oscars ceremony after he had slapped Chris Rock, but that Smith had refused.
This raises two questions.
First, was Smith asked to leave before or after the Best Actor award was presented? Presumably, it was beforehand. I'm sure Smith wanted to stay and find out if he would be named the winner which as fate would have it was the case. Had he left and been named the winner it would have created yet another awkward situation. Who would have accepted the award on his behalf? The Williams sisters? Jada Pinkett-Smith?
Second, when Smith refused to leave why didn't the Motion Picture Academy tell him that wasn't his choice? I think I can take a reasonable guess. The Motion Picture Academy didn't want to escalate an already angry Smith. Had the situation further escalated it might have resulted in the Academy calling upon security to physically remove Smith. With #OscarsSoWhite hanging over their heads, I'm sure that last thing the Academy wanted was images of an African-American man being forcibly ejected from its grandest stage even if the victim in question was also an African-American man. So whose black life matters more?
The Academy is now reviewing the incident and may subject Smith to discipline. If I were to venture to guess is that he would be prohibited from appearing at next year's ceremony. Traditionally, the person who presents the Best Actress award is the Best Actor from the previous year.
Now its entirely possible nothing like this will ever happen again. But when someone crosses the line there have to be decisive measures in place to enforce peace and order to avoid a spectacle in which no good comes.
Although with that said, Chris Rock is currently being received by enthusiastic audiences here in Boston and will probably receive a similar reception for the forseeable future.
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