LA Sheriffs arrive at Will Smith’s family home amid safety fears days after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars: Academy is due to hold full board meeting today to discuss disciplinary action against the star
- LA sheriffs arrived at Will Smith’s Calabasas mansion after they received a call about an alleged drone sighting over the property
- Smith apologized for slapping Chris Rock after the comedian joked about Smith’s wife’s shaved head at Sunday’s Oscars
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched a formal review and will discuss the incident at a full board meeting on Wednesday
LA sheriffs have arrived at Will Smith’s family home amid safety fears after a drone was allegedly sighted over the actor’s property, just days after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.
The officers arrived at Smith’s mansion in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences holding an emergency board meeting today to discuss disciplinary action against the star.
LA County Sherriff’s were seen driving through the gates of the Calabasas mansion in a patrol car at 2.40pm after they received a call about an alleged drone sighting over the property.
But by the time the officers arrived at the estate, the reported drone had disappeared, the Sheriff’s department told the Sun.
It comes after View host Whoopi Goldberg, who is also a member of the Academy, said she believes Smith will be able to keep his Oscar following the controversy but he will still face some form of punishment for the on-stage assault.
The officers arrived at Smith’s mansion in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences holding an emergency board meeting today to discuss disciplinary action against the star
LA County Sherriff’s were seen driving into the gates of the Calabasas mansion in a patrol car at 2.40pm after they received a call about an alleged drone sighting over the property
Will Smith’s Calabasas mansion, which features a tennis court and basketball court (file photo)
Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars on Sunday, after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. On Monday, Smith apologized
‘There are consequences,’ Goldberg said. ‘There are big consequences because nobody is OK with what happened.
‘Nobody, nobody, nobody.’
Her comments come just one day after Goldberg defended Smith on Monday, saying ‘sometimes you behave badly’ and that she believed he ‘snapped.’
The consequences Goldberg is referring to will likely be decided at an emergency meeting of the Academy’s board scheduled for Wednesday, but Goldberg did not give any details of what the punishment may look like.
Disciplinary action could include anything from forcing him to hand back his Oscar to the most severe punishment – suspension from the Academy – which would put Smith among the ranks of Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, who were both expelled for sexual misconduct.
Wife Jada Pinkett Smith, 50, finally broke her silence on Tuesday with an Instagram post that read, ‘This is a season for healing and I’m here for it.’
It comes a day after Smith released an apology, saying his behavior was ‘unacceptable and inexcusable’ and left him ’embarrassed’.
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Whoopi Goldberg doubled down on her promise to punish Will Smith Tuesday, saying on daytime talk show The View: ‘There are consequences. There are big consequences because nobody is OK with what happened. Nobody, nobody, nobody’
‘This is a season for healing and I’m here for it,’ the actress posted to Instagram Tuesday, two days after the incident that stunned millions of viewers
Goldberg’s comments come just one day after she said Smith will likely be able to keep his Oscar. She also defended the King Richard actor, adding: ‘sometimes you behave badly’ and that she believed he ‘snapped’
Goldberg also said racial dynamics played into Oscars producer Will Packer’s decision not to remove Smith from the event, ‘because that would have been another 15-, 20 minute-explanation about why we’re taking the Black man out five seconds before they’re about to decide whether he’s won an Oscar or not.’
‘I believe [producer] Will Packer made the right decision, he said let’s get to the rest of this so we can deal with it wholeheartedly,’ Goldberg said, adding ‘this is not the first time craziness has happened on stage, but this is the first time we’ve seen anybody assault anybody on stage.’
Smith’s fate could be decided on today at a meeting held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors – where his onstage assault of Chris Rock at Sunday’s Oscars is expected to be the main topic.
A post-Oscars board meeting is always held to discuss the ceremony and address any concerns, but does not usually happen this soon, the Hollywood Reporter learned.
The decision to hold the meeting was made after the Academy met for an emergency call Monday night about the incident and released a statement announcing a launch of a formal review.
‘The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law.’
On Tuesday’s edition of ‘The View,’ Goldberg continued to speculate about Sunday night’s events – adding that criticism of the stunned crowd was out of line because of the chaotic moment unfolding in real time.
The reason people went over to Smith, she said, is because ‘people thought Oh my god, is he having a break? Do we need to get him out? What do we need to do?’
The incident continues to be a national conversation and Goldberg added Tuesday that she hopes people begin to ask: ‘What could have triggered this?’
‘What’s happening is people are now starting to calm down and say, ‘Wait a minute, what could have triggered this?’ Could have been the four years ago, could have been anything.’
The ‘four years ago’ is in reference to Rock making jokes about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at a another awards show.
Pinkett Smith has broken her silence after the incident between her husband and Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about her shaved head. She has been open about her struggle with alopecia on social media
While many are calling for Smith’s Oscar to be rescinded, guidelines in the Academy’s Code of Conduct – rewritten in 2017 during the height of the Me Too Movement – outline even more severe consequences.
A more severe punishment would be expulsion from the Academy, putting the ‘King Richard’ actor in a small group of people who have been expelled, including Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, and Roman Polanski.
Weinstein was expelled ‘for ‘sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment’ and Cosby and Polanski were expelled ‘in accordance with the organization’s Standards of Conduct’ after they had been convicted of sexual assault.
Weinstein and Polanski’s Oscars were never rescinded.
Rock covers his jaw after being slapped in the face but went on to announce the winner for best documentary after a very awkward pause
Many of Hollywood celebrities denounced Smith’s actions and called for his Oscar to be taken back.
Marshall Herskovitz, president emeritus of the Producers Guild of America, was among the first to condemn Smith, tweeting shortly after the attack that Smith had ‘disgraced our entire community’.
He said: ‘I call upon the Academy, of which I am a member, to take disciplinary action against Will Smith. He disgraced our entire community tonight.’
Herskovitz accused those who defended the actor of ‘moral cowardice’.
In one of the most shocking moments in the history of the vaunted awards show, Smith strode on stage Sunday and slapped Rock in the face after the comedian made a joke about the appearance of Smith’s wife.
Smith’s meltdown continued when he returned to his seat as he repeatedly screamed: ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth’.
The crowd then fell into stunned silence – and any questions over whether the altercation was genuine were answered when just over half an hour later Smith was given the Best Actor award and apologized for the assault.
The actor released a statement on Monday, saying his behavior was ‘unacceptable and inexcusable’ and left him ’embarrassed’.
He wrote in an Instagram post that he was ’embarrassed’ by his actions, which shocked the ceremony attendees, producers and viewers.
‘Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,’ he wrote.
‘My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.
‘I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.’
Harvey Weinstein (left) was expelled and Bill Cosby (right) were expelled from the Academy
Could Will Smith be stripped of his Oscar? Academy faces pressure to respond after disgraced star broke Code of Conduct drawn up in wake of MeToo Movement
The Academy tweeted its disapproval of ‘violence of any form’ late on Sunday night
There are calls for the Academy to strip Will Smith of his Best Actor Oscar after he walked on stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock who was presenting an award on stage, after making a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s hair.
The Academy, in its code of conduct, is known to take a very a dim view of violence of any kind.
After the award ceremony was over it tweeted: ‘The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.’
The Academy reestablished its Code of Conduct in 2017 during the Me Too Movement.
‘Academy membership is a privilege offered to only a select few within the global community of filmmakers,’ AMPAS CEO Dawn Hudson wrote to members following various scandals in the industry.
On Sunday night, in the Dolby Theatre, there was complete bewilderment in the moments after the assault with took place with those present initially wondering if the punch was part of a stunt.
It took a few moments for the normally unflappable Rock to process but the colorful language from Smith quickly confirmed it wasn’t any kind of joke at all.
The punch threw the entire Oscars broadcast into chaos as producers were frantically forced into deciding how to deal with the on-air assault, with Smith still yet to receive his Best Actor statuette.
Smith then went on to say sorry to the organizers and the producers of the show.
Rock has not responded to Smith’s apology, or commented on the Sunday night incident.
Smith also extended his apology to the family of Venus and Serena Williams.
Shortly after slapping Rock, Smith won the best actor award for his portrayal of their father Richard – but the story of their family was overshadowed by Smith’s attack.
Richard Williams – who the Oscar-winner portrays in King Richard – said after the attack that he condemns violence.
Chavoita LeSane, Williams’ son, told NBC: ‘We don’t know all the details of what happened. But we don’t condone anyone hitting anyone else unless it’s in self-defense.’
Smith said: ‘I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world,’ Smith continued.
‘I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family.
‘I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.’
The Philadelphia-born actor concluded: ‘I am a work in progress. Sincerely, Will.’
His apology came as the group that hands out the Oscars on Monday condemned Smith’s actions and said it had started a formal review of the incident that cast a shadow over the film honors.
Smith strode on stage during the live telecast and struck Rock in the face after the comedian made a joke about the appearance of Smith’s wife.
Smith’s meltdown continued when he returned to his seat as he repeatedly screamed: ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth’.
The crowd then fell into stunned silence as it became clear the attack was genuine, and not staged.
Rock replied to him saying: ‘I’m going to, okay?’
He then laughed uncomfortably, saying: ‘That was the greatest night in the history of television’.
Smith’s sweary rant was muted by directors because the show’s live broadcast is slightly delayed in the US.
But it was aired in full to some international audiences with the uncut clip already been viewed more than a million times on social media and YouTube in the first few hours.
Any questions over whether the altercation was genuine were answered when just over half an hour later Smith was given the Best Actor award and apologized for the assault.
Will Smith had initially laughed at the Rock gag about Jada’s hair being short – a line of Demi Moore’s in GI Jane. His wife looked very unhappy and rolled her eyes
After smacking Rock, a now visibly fuming Smith returned to his seat and began repeatedly yelling: ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth’. Lupita Nyong’o’ was among those baffled by what happened with many initially believing that an act so outrageous must be part of the show
Smith and Pinkett-Smith held hands throughout the ceremony after the shock slap. Denzel Washington was acting as peacemaker
Actor and comedian Jim Carrey slammed the Hollywood crowd for giving the actor a standing ovation when he accepted his best actor award following his now-infamous slap.
Carrey, 60, was asked by anchor Gayle King about the endlessly analyzed moment on CBS Morning News while doing press for Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
‘I was sickened by the standing ovation,’ he said. ‘I felt like Hollywood is just spineless en masse. It really felt like this is a clear indication that we’re not the cool club anymore.’
The comedian, who briefly overlapped with Rock in the early 90s on Fox’s In Living Color, claimed Rock didn’t file charges because he ‘didn’t want the hassle’ and suggested Smith should have been arrested.
‘I’d have announced this morning that I was suing Will for $200 million because that video’s gonna be there forever. It’s gonna be ubiquitous. That insult is gonna last a very long time,’ Carrey said.
The Mask actor seemed to indicate that expressing disapproval of the joke, saying something on Twitter or even yelling from the audience wasn’t beyond the pale – but what Smith ended up doing crossed the line.
‘You do not have the right to walk up on stage and smack somebody on the face because they said words,’ Carrey said.
The Ace Ventura star suggested that something was ‘going on’ inside of Smith that caused him to do that, and that he acted selfishly.
‘It didn’t escalate, it came out of nowhere because Will has something going on inside him that’s frustrated and I wish him the best, I really do,’ Carrey said. ‘I don’t have anything against Will Smith, he’s done great things.
‘It cast a pall over everybody’s shining moment, a lot of people worked really hard to get to that place,’ The Truman Show star added. ‘It is no mean feat to go through all the stuff you have to go through when you get nominated for an Oscar. It’s a gauntlet of devotion. It was just a selfish moment.’
Jim Carrey and Will Smith during Nickelodeon’s 16th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards 2003
Actor and comedian Jim Carrey slammed the audience at Sunday’s Academy Awards for giving Will Smith a standing ovation following his now infamous slap of Chris Rock
In his acceptance speech a crying Smith said: ‘Love makes you do crazy things’, as he clutched his Oscar statuette.
‘You gotta be able to take abuse, and you gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you,’ Smith said.
‘In this business, you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you and you gotta smile and you gotta pretend like that’s OK.
‘Denzel (Washington) said to me a few minutes ago, he said, ‘At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.’
‘It’s like I want to be a vessel for love.
‘I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena. I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family for entrusting me with your story. That’s what I want to do. I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love and care and concern.’
The actor went on: ‘I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees.
‘Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things’.
He added: ‘I’m hoping the Academy invites me back. Thank you’.
Smith sobs as he accepted his best actor award, and apologized for the violence – but did not say sorry to Chris Rock at the time
Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith showed a united front after the row with Rock overshadowed his Oscar win
Shortly after the slap, Will added a comment to his own Instagram post, quipping: ‘You can’t invite people from Philly or Baltimore nowhere’
Smith’s relationship with his wife had been the butt of jokes during awards season.
At the BAFTAs in London a fortnight ago host Rebel Wilson targeted the couple when he won won the Leading Actor award for his role in King Richard.
The assembled audience at the Royal Albert Hall, which didn’t include the star who stayed in LA, groaned as she said his ‘best performance in the past year was being OK with all his wife’s boyfriends’ – a nod to Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s open relationship.
It came after he recently admitted his wife had ‘never believed in a conventional marriage’ and claims she had an affair. This may explain why he reacted so sensitively to Rock’s joke about her.
Journalists covering the awards ceremony from the press area were instructed not to ask any attendees about Smith slapping Rock, according to BBC correspondent David Sillito.
Late Sunday night, the LAPD issued a statement saying that Rock had not filed a police report against Smith, but that if he chooses to do so, police will investigate.
‘LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program,’ the statement said. ‘The incident involved one individual slapping another.’
But after the Oscars, the actor 53, did not appear to have a care in the world as he was seen grinning and dancing with his Oscar award
Smith and other celebs partied through the night at post-Oscars events
In a statement on Monday, the 9,900-member Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said it ‘condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show.’
‘We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law,’ the academy added.
The group’s standards of conduct policy states it is ‘categorically opposed to any form of abuse, harassment or discrimination’ and expects members to uphold the values ‘of respect for human dignity, inclusion, and a supportive environment that fosters creativity.’
Violations may result in suspension or expulsion from the group, revocation of Oscars, or loss of eligibility for future awards, according to the policy.
A full board of Governors meeting is set for Wednesday and the incident is expected to be the main topic.
Several Hollywood celebrities denounced Smith’s actions.
Alec Baldwin posted to Instagram and Twitter his condemnation of Smith’s behavior.
‘I’m sorry the Oscars turned into the Jerry Springer Show,’ he said.
Hollywood A-listers react with shock to the moment Will Smith slaps Chris Rock
Hollywood A-listers standing backstage at the Academy Awards were ‘gasping’ after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage Sunday night, ceremony attendees have confirmed.
The host of celebrities in the green room at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, including tennis stars Serena Williams and Venus Williams, were left in stunned disbelief as they watched Smith storm the stage during Rock’s award presentation and slap him.
‘It went very quiet,’ a source who was in the green room during the incident told The Hollywood Reporter.
‘Everyone was like, ‘What the f**k is happening?! Did that just happen?! Oh my God!’ People were gasping,’ another insider alleged.
The insiders also reported seeing Jake Gyllenhaal, Zoe Kravitz, Kevin Costner, Anthony Hopkins, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman and John Travolta backstage during the attack.
Once the ceremony went to a commercial break, Academy Awards outgoing CEO Dawn Hudson and President David Rubin, along with the Oscars spokesperson, rushed backstage looking ‘as serious as could be’ and ‘walked very, very fast into a private room’ with Smith’s representative, Meredith O’Sullivan Wasson.
Sources said Hudson and Rubin never returned to the audience. Wasson reportedly spent several commercial breaks traveling between the backstage area and Smith’s seat, where she conferred with the actor. Jada Pinkett Smith, who was seen holding her husband’s hand, also allegedly consulted her own representatives during this time.
Rock skipped returning to the green room after presenting the award for best documentary feature.
The host of celebrities in the green room at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, including tennis stars Serena Williams and Venus Williams (pictured), were left stunned after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage during the Academy Awards Sunday night
As the chaos erupted onstage, Oscars producers and director Glenn Weiss made the decision to keep the live show going as it became obvious the slap was not a joke and a serious altercation had ensued.
‘You started to realize this is real once Chris, who certainly knows the limits of broadcast standards, said, ‘Will Smith slapped the s**t out of me,” ABC’s Rob Mills, who was in the production trailer at the time, told Variety.
‘That’s when it became obvious that this was not a joke.’
Serena and Venus Williams (pictured) were backstage during the outburst. The insiders also reported seeing Jake Gyllenhaal, Zoe Kravitz, Kevin Costner, Anthony Hopkins, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman and John Travolta backstage
The network’s censor dropped the audio from the broadcast for a lengthy period of time, leaving many American viewers in confusion. Mills alleged that often, in these types of situations, officials err on the side of caution.
‘When you’re on the button, which I wasn’t but our our standards people were, I think you obviously go towards overcorrection than letting something get through,’ he said.
Mills claimed Rock’s joke, in which he compared Pinkett Smith to G.I. Jane, was an ad-lib.
‘Chris Rock came on and he was doing, I think, material based on what happened that night as any comedian will do,’ Mills said.
‘He made the [‘G.I. Jane’] joke. Obviously, you could see the joke did not land with Jada. And then you see Will start to get up and walk up.’
According to Mills, control room operators are prepared for unplanned incidents during live broadcasts, but the slap was not one they expected.
‘There have certainly been unpredictable moments where people have gotten up and done things, so we thought this was one of those,’ he said.
‘You have to remember that you’re putting a live show on. Had this been something that was being pre-taped, we would have stopped down. Things would have been addressed. We would have seen what to do next.’
‘It went very quiet,’ a source who was in the green room during the incident told The Hollywood Reporter. ‘Everyone was like, ‘What the f**k is happening?! Did that just happen?! Oh my God!’ People were gasping,’ another insider alleged.
Once the ceremony went into a commercial break, Academy Awards outgoing CEO Dawn Hudson (left) and President David Rubin (right), along with the Oscars spokesperson, rushed backstage looking ‘as serious as could be’ and ‘walked very, very fast into a private room’ with Smith’s representative. Sources allege Hudson and Rubin never returned to the audience
Smith’s representative, Meredith O’Sullivan Wasson, reportedly spent several commercial breaks traveling between the backstage area and Smith’s seat where she conferred with the actor. Jada Pinkett Smith, who was seen holding her husband’s hand, also allegedly consulted her own representatives during this time
Mills added: ‘But here, you have to remember you’ve got a show to do. Obviously, this was something that was unfortunate, but it was not to a degree that you think, ‘Okay, we need to just stop the entire show.’ And the show just kind of went on.’
He also alleged the Academy will have to ‘post-mortem’ the situation, suggesting it may perhaps put new protocols in place to prevent anything like this from happening again.
Mills reiterated the likelihood of a person nominated for best actor, which Smith did win, being involved in an incident is ‘almost billion to one’.
‘This was a real almost billion to one moment where the person involved in this incident was the probable winner for best actor,’ Mills explained.
‘So it’s just a scenario you don’t really know and you just got to keep the show going in the meantime and then obviously, AMPAS will address this afterwards, in the post mortem.’
Presenter Chris Rock speaks onstage as Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, bottom left, listen from their seats at the Oscars
After the slap, Smith was seen being comforted and consoled by Sean Combs (left) and Tyler Perry (right)
Bradley Cooper also pulled Smith aside and was seen in close conversation with him
Shortly after slapping Rock, Smith won the best actor award for his portrayal of Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Serena and Venus, in the film King Richard.
Moments after the assault, Serena Williams shared her shock on her Instagram stories, sharing a short video of her face with her jaw dropped.
Her initial video has no words, allowing her facial expression to speak for itself.
‘I just sat down, because I was like, I gotta put that drink down because…’ Williams, 40, said in another video moments later, widening her eyes.
The tennis champion may have been hesitant to condemn Smith too clearly, as she was at the Oscars Sunday night for a film he starred in and produced.
She and her sister Venus, 41, also have executive producer credits for the film.
However, Instagram videos — and in particular the second one, in which she gives side-eye and wrinkles her brow — appear to make the point that she didn’t approve of Smith’s outburst.
Serena Williams shared her too-stunned-to-speak reaction after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars on Sunday night
‘I just sat down, because I was like, I gotta put that drink down because…’ Serena says in another video moments later, widening her eyes
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