Veteran actor and Academy member Harry Lennix said Will Smith should return his Best Actor Oscar. On March 27, Smith hit Chris Rock onstage at the Academy Awards over a joke about his wife. The academy banned Smith from attending future ceremonies, and he resigned from the academy. Loading Something is loading.
Actor Harry Lennix called on Will Smith to return his Oscar after his controversial awards ceremony.
At the Academy Awards last month, Will Smith punched Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke alluding to his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Smith, who won the Best Actor award that night, said he was defending his wife, who suffers from the hair loss condition alopecia.
In an op-ed published Saturday by Variety, Lennix wrote that Smith’s behavior undermined the integrity of the awards.
Smith must mail his gold trophy back to the Academy and say something publicly along the lines of, ‘Out of respect for the 94 years of honor bestowed on this award, I in good conscience do not feel worthy of its keeper. to be.’, the ‘Blacklist’ actor wrote.
Last week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced they would ban Smith from attending any academy events or programs, including the Oscars, for the next 10 years amid the controversial onstage altercation.
In an open letter obtained by Insider, the academy denounced Smith’s actions as “unacceptable and harmful behavior” and said the ban is “a step toward a greater goal of protecting the safety of our artists and guests.” and restore confidence in the Academy.”
In a statement to CNN, Smith said, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.” He also resigned from the academy on April 1, so he can no longer vote for the Oscars.
But Lennix called the academy’s ban a “toothless punishment that exposes the superficiality of Hollywood morals.”
“Right now, Smith himself is the only person who can cash in on the integrity of the Oscars,” Lennix wrote in the op-ed. “He must face the gravity of the crime he has committed: slapping Rock, live on March 27 in front of millions on the Academy Awards stage.”
The 57-year-old actor, who is a member of the Motion Picture and Television Academy, said Smith, 53, should do “more” in the wake of the blow, in addition to being fired from the academy and banned from future ceremonies and programs. .
“The stain on the Motion Picture Academy cannot be easily removed,” he wrote in the op-ed. “The only hope for justifiable grace must be for Smith to voluntarily return his Best Actor award.”
This post Will Smith Must Return Oscar After He Punches Chris Rock
was original published at “https://www.insider.com/harry-lennix-will-smith-should-return-oscar-slapping-chris-rock-2022-4”
