The way the Academy Awards handled Will Smith’s controversial Oscar slap has come under fire, as Ben Fordham labelled their response “an embarrassment”.
Shockwaves were sent through the prestigious event held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Monday as the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star stormed on stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock over a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.
The world watched the incident in disbelief, with the Academy later tweeting it “does not condone violence of any form”.
Speaking on 2GB, Fordham questioned why there were no repercussions for Smith after he “belted him in the face”.
He said the actor should have immediately been removed from the awards, arrested and charged over his “unhinged” and “violent” actions.
“The best the Academy could do was send out a pathetic Tweet … You absolutely condoned it. You let him return to his seat. You didn’t kick him out and you then handed him an award,” Fordham said.
“The double standards are extraordinary.
“They lecture everyone else about how to behave, but when the bad behaviour happened on their stage it was a case of see no evil, hear no evil.
“The Academy Awards are an embarrassment. They preach one thing and they do the opposite.”
Fordham pointed out Smith first laughed at the joke before he realised his wife was far from impressed.
But the journalist and radio presenter admitting he understood why the Bad Boys actor was enraged.
“Chris Rock made an offensive joke about his wife … the joke was a low blow,” Fordham said.
“If that was said about my wife, I would have struggled to stay in my seat.
“I wouldn’t have belted anyone, but I can understand how rage could build when you see something like this happen to someone you love.”
Rock’s joke was about Pinkett-Smith’s shaved head.
The actor and mother of two suffers from alopecia and was diagnosed in 2018.
The slap left many questioning whether it was a skit at first, but guests and viewers were quick to realise it was serious once Smith was heard screaming “keep my wife’s name out your f**king mouth”.
The actor went on to win an Oscar for best actor for his role in King Richard, the drama film about tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams.
During his long acceptance speech, Smith failed to apologise to Rock but said he hoped the Academy would invite him as a guest again next year.
“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Smith said, speaking of Venus and Serena Williams’ father he plays in the biopic.
“I know to do what we do, you’ve got to be able to take abuse. You’ve got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you’ve got to be able to have people disrespecting you and you’ve got to smile and you’ve got to pretend that’s OK.
“I want to apologise to the Academy, I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees.
“Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams, but love will make you do crazy things.”
