People Are Calling Out The Academy’s Double Standards Over Will Smith Investigation
The Academy "does not condone violence" yet Harvey Weinstein has 81 Oscars.
Will Smith is being investigated by the Academy for slapping Chris Rock during the Oscars ceremony on Monday. But many people have pointed out the hypocrisy and irony of the Academy’s reaction.
Smith walked up on stage and slapped Rock after Rock made an offensive joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s bald hairstyle. Pinkett-Smith has been open about her struggles with Alopecia areata, an auto-immune disorder that causes hair loss. What’s worse is that Rock has also produced a documentary on the cultural significance of Black women’s hair. Safe to say, he should have known better.
The unscripted slap has made headlines the world over and prompted much discourse on displays of violence, ableism, and the racialised misogyny Black women experience.
In response, the organisation behind the Academy Awards launched a formal review of the incident. According to the Hollywood Reporter, they also tabled the question of whether Smith’s Best Actor Oscar should be confiscated in an upcoming meeting.
The alleged investigation and potential revoking of Smith’s Oscar have sparked backlash. The main theme of the backlash is that the Academy’s statement of not condoning violence doesn’t seem to match up with who they have given awards over the years.
The Academy famously awarded Roman Polanski Best Director in 2003. However, the director was not present because he had fled the US to avoid sentencing in a court case where he had been charged with drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. Polanski also received a standing ovation from the attending audience and has never been stripped of this accolade.
For decades, the Academy also continued to award films made by Harvey Weinstein, despite his abusive treatment of women being an open secret. Weinstein has been awarded 81 Academy Awards, none of which have been rescinded despite him now serving jail time for multiple sexual assault charges.
Will Smith may be asked to hand back his Oscar due to breaking The Academy’s code of conduct – a code so strict that Harvey Weinstein only won 81 of them.
— Have I Got News For You (@haveigotnews) March 29, 2022
Other Academy Award winners with accusations of violence and sexual assault include Casey Affleck, Kevin Spacey, Gary Oldman, Mel Gibson, Sean Penn, and Woody Allen. However, none of these men has been stripped of their accolades. Nor have their status within the Academy been questioned by the Academy.
Some are making the claim that the difference is location-based. None of the aforementioned men committed the acts they’re accused of at the Academy Award ceremony itself as Smith did. However, others say the issue is, essentially, Black and white.
As a Black man, Smith is held to a different standard than those of his white peers. For the Academy to reprimand Smith so instantly and severely for slapping a man who insulted his wife, while white men who are convicted rapists and abusers are permitted to keep and win awards, shows a clear double standard influenced by anti-Black racism.
The Academy claims to condemn violence and infer its code of conduct is applied equally to its members. So, why haven’t those with multiple accusations and even charges of violence and assault had their status with the Academy reviewed? Why is their privilege to retain these awards maintained despite alleged and charged criminal offences? Why isn’t Will Smith afforded such leniency for a less extreme offence?
The answer lies in the reality of how Black people are treated in predominantly white institutions. How is it fair that Smith’s status with the Academy over an incident where he defended his wife against the racialised misogyny of a Black peer will be judged by a predominantly white board of governors?
Whether or not Will Smith will get to keep his Oscar will apparently be the leading issue deliberated upon this Wednesday at a meeting of the Academy’s board of governors. Smith issued an statement about the incident earlier this week in which he apologised to both Chris Rock and the Academy for his conduct.
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