Breaking: Will Smith resigns from the Academy and says he'll accept any punishment they decide



Movie star Will Smith said in a statement Friday that he had resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences over the slapping incident that took place during Sunday's Oscar awards ceremony.

"I have directly responded to the Academy's disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct," said Smith in the statement.

The popular movie star has already apologized for marching up to comedian Chris Rock and slapping him during the ceremony for a joke he made about his wife who was sitting next to him in the audience. His wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, suffers from hair loss from alopecia.

"My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,” Smith continued.

“I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film," he added.

"So I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate," Smith concluded.

While many have speculated on how the Academy might punish Smith, Academy board of governors member Whoopi Goldberg has already said that they would not be taking away his best actor award.

“We’re not going to take that Oscar from him. There will be consequences, I’m sure," said Goldberg on her show "The View."

Here's more about the Oscars slap:

LAPD was prepared to arrest Will Smith, Oscars producer sayswww.youtube.com

Ayanna Pressley tweets 'I don't endorse violence' after stealth deleting tweet endorsing violence



On “The Rubin Report,” BlazeTV host Dave Rubin called out Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley who tweeted — then deleted — support for violent solutions after actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock for making an offensive joke at the Oscars.

Pressley tweeted and then promptly deleted support for Smith's violent reaction to Rock's about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia areata.

""#Alopecia nation stand up! Thank you #WillSmith,” Pressley, who also has alopecia, tweeted. “Shout out to all the husbands who defend their wives living with alopecia in the face of daily ignorance & insults ... Women with baldies are for real men only only. boys need not apply."

Just-deleted tweet from Rep. Ayanna Pressley #mapoli #Oscarspic.twitter.com/gGFlStTQ3D
— Grace Panetta (@Grace Panetta) 1648435754

After deleting her initial tweet, Pressley changed her tune and posted a new tweet saying she does not "endorse violence in any form."

My life's work has always been about trauma & healing.\n\nI\u2019m a survivor - I don\u2019t endorse violence in any form.
— Ayanna Pressley (@Ayanna Pressley) 1648481554

Dave shared his own experience with alopecia but emphasized that the leftist message "violence is okay when you're offended" is anything but okay.

"You're allowed to joke about people, and then people are allowed to make fun of you. They're allowed to not associate with you. They're allowed to mock you ... they're not allowed to physically assault you," Dave said. "This is what laws are. We have freedom of speech and if someone says something mean to you, you can ignore them or you can say something mean to them, but you can't attack them."

Watch the video clip below or find full episodes of "The Rubin Report" here. Can't watch? Download the podcast here.


Democrat Defends Will Smith Punching Chris Rock & Instantly Regrets It | DM CLIPS | Rubin Reportyoutu.be

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Academy issues another statement condemning Will Smith slap after being criticized for lukewarm response



The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences issued a second statement about the controversial slapping incident after it was criticized for a lukewarm initial response.

Video of superstar movie actor Will Smith slapping the comedian Chris Rock went mega-viral online and inspired countless jokes and memes as well as some very serious takes about what the slap meant about society.

Initially, the Academy issued a statement that only said it would not condone any violence but didn't specifically cite the incident.

"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."

CNN then reported that a handful of members of the Academy on a teleconference meeting Monday morning criticized the statement for being too lukewarm.

That occasioned a second statement specifically condemning Smith's actions:

“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."

The Los Angeles Police Department said Rock declined to press charges against Smith, who went on to win the Oscar award for best actor and apologized to the Academy in an emotional tearful speech.

Some opined that Smith should lose his Oscar award over a rule by the Academy against violence, but at least one member of the Academy’s board of governors disagreed.

“We’re not going to take that Oscar from him. There will be consequences, I’m sure," said Whoopi Goldberg on "The View" Monday.

Sources reportedly said the joke made at the expense of Will Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith was not a part of rehearsals in Chris Rock's routine before the show.

Here's more about the slap heard 'round the world:

Academy 'strongly considered' removing Will Smith from Oscars, source sayswww.youtube.com

Whitlock: Someone tell Will Smith and Kanye West that 'Jesus walked' out of Hollywood years ago



God and Hollywood can’t coexist.

That’s what Denzel Washington should have told Will Smith at last night’s Oscars. Instead, in the aftermath of Smith assaulting comedian Chris Rock on stage, Washington warned: “At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.”

The devil already has Will Smith. Like Washington, Smith is trapped inside the belly of the Hollywood beast. Modern Hollywood is Satan’s content farm. Smith’s violent response to a relatively harmless joke was simply more social-media-friendly content.

A little more than midway through Hollywood’s annual celebration of sexual immorality and racial idolatry, Smith took offense to Rock suggesting Jada Pinkett Smith could easily play the role of G.I. Jane, a fictional bald female Navy SEAL. Smith walked on stage, slapped Rock, walked back to his front-row seat, and verbally berated Rock.

“Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth,” Smith screamed.

Thirty minutes later, Smith was back on stage accepting the best actor award for his portrayal of Richard Williams, father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, in the movie “King Richard.” Smith apologized for his earlier behavior and suggested his assault of Rock was inspired by Richard Williams and God.

“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Smith said. “In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world. I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love and care and concern. I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees.”

You can’t defend your family and excel in modern Hollywood. You can’t embrace biblical values and excel in Hollywood. Will Smith is learning this publicly and painfully. In Hollywood, your family is nothing more than fodder for the content machine. That’s why Jada Pinkett Smith talked openly about her sexual infidelity on her "Red Table Talk" podcast. That’s why Will Smith has publicly admitted that his wife talked him into an open marriage. Smith foolishly believes his biblical worldview can withstand the requirements of Hollywood. It can’t.

Hollywood demands that its actors pursue fame by any means necessary. The actors submit to the casting couches owned by sexual predators. They subject themselves to social media ridicule and abuse and adopt the values approved by Twitter. They surrender their free will, independent thought, sexual morality, and identity to the pursuit of popularity. They’re politicians forced to strip naked for cameras, magazine shoots, and award shows.

It’s a godless existence. The pursuit of fame is the antithesis of the pursuit of God. Fame requires you to give in to narcissism and promote idolatry. Idolatry is at the root of all sin. The Smiths are American idols in pursuit of fame.

Will Smith is no different from Kanye West. They want to serve two masters – God and Hollywood.

The Bible says it this way in Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Will Smith and Kanye West hate themselves for the deals they struck with fame, women, and their wives. Thirteen years ago, West ran on stage at the VMA awards, snatched a microphone from singer Taylor Swift, and basically stated that the award Swift won disrespected Beyonce.

Kanye cracked before Will Smith. But it was only a matter of time before the PG rapper joined his X-rated peer. When you live a life in objection to your values, you lose control of your emotions and your discipline.

Black men have lost control. We’ve been completely emasculated in our homes, in the workforce, in popular culture, and across all social media platforms. The underlying message to every commercial promoting the strength of black women is that black men are weak, unreliable, and worthless.

The black woman is not strong. She’s out of control and outside her role. She’s a poor substitute for man.

Jada Pinkett emasculated her husband when she aired her infidelity and convinced him that he would be happy in an open marriage. Last night, Will Smith initially laughed at the harmless G.I. Jane joke. It wasn’t until Pinkett took offense that Smith turned violent. I’m not arguing that Smith is a victim. I’m arguing that Smith is weak and easily manipulated by his out-of-control wife.

Smith has bought the garbage feminist belief that men need to get in touch with their emotions and express them publicly.

The truth is men and women need three lives: a personal life; a private life; and a public life.

Social media has melded all three lives into one. The entertainment industry – all of it, including sports – dictates that its participants obey the social media gods. This negative phenomenon is most acute among black people. All studies indicate that we, black people, overindulge in social media. “Black Twitter” is technology's version of the crack epidemic.

Social media is accelerating the mental breakdown of black men. We are on the front lines of the culture war being waged against men on these platforms. Any expression of traditional Christian values by black men is met with accusations of race betrayal, sexism, or some sort of sexual “phobia.” Black women have mostly remained silent about the evisceration of heterosexual, Christian black men as a tool to seize power. Black women have instead raised their voices in support of George Floyd, Daunte Wright, Ahmaud Arbery, and other career criminals they would never date, marry, or allow inside their homes.

Black women have aligned with social media apps in making black men killed by white people their favorite form of black men. Black women have aligned with secularism. The godless love dead black men above all else.

Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are secular platforms. The fastest route to popularity on these platforms is the expression of secular values, particularly on sexuality. Instagram is the new Playboy magazine. Twitter is Out magazine. Facebook is Cosmopolitan magazine.

A biblical worldview cannot coexist with pornography (IG), the LGBTQIA+ agenda (Twitter), and a feminine guide to globalism (Facebook).

Will Smith is cracking up trying to stuff the values of a square into the round holes of Hollywood. He made a buffoon of himself defending the honor of a woman who refuses to honor him with fidelity and privacy.

Chris Rock did not turn Will Smith’s marriage and wife into punch lines. Jada did that when, in pursuit of additional fame and idolatry, she made their private lives public.

Smith is coming to grips with the fact you can’t obey Hollywood’s commandments and God’s. It’s a lesson all of America is learning.

Oscars quickly unravel after best actor Will Smith rushes stage and slaps comedian Chris Rock in the face: 'Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!'



Actor Will Smith — who would go on to win best actor during Sunday night's 94th Academy Awards — slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face during the evening show after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife's alopecia diagnosis.

Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, shared an emotionally charged video earlier this month detailing her struggle with alopecia — an autoimmune disorder that results in sporadic hair loss.

What happened during the show?

Rock, while presenting an Oscar for best documentary feature, joked about Pinkett Smith's condition, quipping that the star looked like she was gearing up to play in a nonexistent sequel to "G.I. Jane" — a film in which actress Demi Moore shaves her head bald.

"Jada, I love ya," he said. "'G.I. Jane 2,' can't wait to see it."

Following the joke, Smith could be seen making a beeline for the stage and slapping Rock across the face.

A stunned Rock simply stood there as Smith exited the stage.

After a moment, the comedian composed himself and said, "Oh wow. Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me."

Smith, by this time in his seat, then screamed at Rock, "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!"

Rock answered, "Wow, dude! It was a 'G.I. Jane' joke!"

Smith fired back once more, "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!"

Rock conceded and said, "I'm going to, OK?"

(Content warning: Rough language):

VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rockpic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa
— Timothy Burke (@Timothy Burke) 1648434735

Smith wins best actor — and addresses the slap in acceptance speech

Smith addressed the incident during his best actor acceptance speech for his role in "King Richard," in which he portrayed Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams.

The audience gave the emotional-looking Smith a standing ovation as he took the stage to accept his award.

He began his acceptance speech by saying, "Oh man. Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world."

"Making this film, I got to protect Aunjanue Ellis, who is one of the most strongest, most delicate people I’ve ever met," he continued. "I got to protect Saniyya [Sidney] and Demi [Singleton], the two actresses that played Venus and Serena [Williams]. I'm being called on in my life to love people, and to protect people, and to be a river to my people."

Smith added, "Now I know that to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse, you gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you in this business, you’ve got to be able to have people disrespecting you. You’ve got to smile and pretend like that’s OK. But Richard Williams, and what I loved ... thank you, D. 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," an openly weeping Smith continued. "I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena, I just hope they didn't see that on TV. I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family for trusting me with your story. That’s what I want to do — I want to be an ambassador for that kind of love and care and concern."

Image source: Twitter video screeenshot

He then went on to issue an apology to the Academy and to his fellow nominees — notably excluding Rock from the moment.

"I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees," he said. "This is a beautiful moment, and I'm not, I'm not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me, it’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people. Tim and Trevor and Zach and Saniyya and Demi and Aunjanue, and the entire cast and crew of 'King Richard,' and Venus and Serena, the entire Williams family. 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. Love will make you do crazy things. To my mother, this moment is really complicated for me, but to my mother, she didn't want to come out; she had her knitting friends. She has a knitting crew that she’s in Philly watching with. Being able to love and care for my mother, my family, my wife, I’m taking up too much time."

He concluded, "Thank you for this honor, thank you for moment. I thank you on behalf of Richard and Oracene [Williams] and the entire Williams family. Thank you, I hope the Academy invites me back. Thank you."

Here's Will Smith's tearful acceptance speech at the #Oscars. https://bit.ly/3JNjjaq\u00a0pic.twitter.com/Uq2krBbBld
— Variety (@Variety) 1648438100

What else is there to know about this?

The Academy issued a statement in reference to Smith's on-stage antics later that evening.

The statement read, "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 individual involved has declined to file a police report'

The Los Angeles Police Department also issued a statement on the matter, announcing that Rock had declined to press charges against Smith.

"LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another," the statement read. "The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."

Official LAPD statement on the Will Smith x Chris Rock incident:\n\n"The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."pic.twitter.com/cgzD9UPUlF
— Tony \u2022 GMA (@Tony \u2022 GMA) 1648440824

A spotty history

During 2016's Academy Awards, Rock made another joke at the expense of Pinkett Smith, who at the time was boycotting the awards ceremony to protest what she said was a lack of racially and culturally diverse nominees.

"Jada got mad, said she’s not coming," Rock said at the time. "Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited. You get mad. It’s not fair that Will was this good and didn’t get nominated. It’s also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for ‘Wild Wild West.’"