“If the party involved wants a police report at a later date,” police said, they will go ahead and “fill out an investigation report.” A...
“If the party involved wants a police report at a later date,” police said, they will go ahead and “fill out an investigation report.”
At least one member of the academy, Marshall Herskovitz, former president of the Producers Guild of America, called for Mr. Smith to face disciplinary action.
Two industry officials said Mr. Rock’s joke was apparently improvised.
And Bruce Vilanch, a former Oscar show head writer who didn’t work on this year’s shows, said: “Everything in the script is checked out. But if a comedian comes on stage and improvises something, there’s no time to check. I guess that’s what happened last night. What I hear from everyone is that it wasn’t the material that was rehearsed.
Mr. Rock teased the Smiths from the Oscars stage before. In 2016, when the Smiths boycotted the awards show because the nominees in all four acting categories were all white, Mr. Rock, the host of that show, joked. “Jada says she’s not coming, protesting,” he said. “I’m like, isn’t she on a TV show? Jada is going to boycott the Oscars – Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.
Mr Smith was not deterred from celebrating his victory on Sunday night, dancing at a crowded Oscars after-party while holding his trophy, but he avoided questions about the incident, which he hasn’t spoken about publicly since his acceptance speech. Publicists for Mr. Smith and Mr. Rock did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Jaden Smith, one of the Smiths’ children, tweeted simply, “And that’s how we do it.”
Reaction inside and outside of Hollywood has been wide-ranging. In post-show interviews, at after-parties, and on social media, Smith’s coworkers variously expressed sadness, confusion, disbelief, anger, and, in some cases, empathy. Lots of questions deflected or ignored on the episode entirely.
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