LA Times editorial board calls for Academy to ban Will Smith from next year's Oscars

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‘The View’ slams ‘violent’ Will Smith for ‘slap heard 'round the world’

The co-hosts of ABC's "The View," went after actor Will Smith over his behavior at Sunday night's Oscars, in which he physically assaulted host Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's hair.

The Los Angeles Times editorial board is calling for Will Smith to be banned from next year's Academy Awards following his outburst and assault on comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars over the weekend after the Rock told a joke about Smith's wife.

In a Monday editorial, Hollywood's hometown paper expressed outrage that Smith wasn't immediately called out for the "unconscionable act," and described his reaction to Rock's joke as "indefensible." 

"Once again, the Oscars show proved that unpredictability is often its hallmark. But violence shouldn’t be," The Times wrote. "Will Smith barreling up to the stage, unbeckoned, to smack comic Chris Rock in the face for making a joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, was not just a shocker. It was an assault that should have been called out immediately for the unconscionable act that it was."

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: Will Smith attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California.  (Photo by Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)

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Rock's joke consisted of mocking Pinkett Smith's shaved head, a hairstyle she apparently took on as part of her battle with alopecia. 

After slapping Rock, Smith returned to his seat and shouted, "Leave my wife’s name out your f-----g mouth," leaving the audience in shocked silence. 

"If the assault had been done by a player during an NBA or NFL game, he might have been suspended or fined for fighting. Instead Smith was allowed to walk back to his seat," The Times wrote, noting that Smith then won the Oscar for lead actor, but gave a "self-indulgent" acceptance speech comparing himself to the character he won the award for playing: Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Serena and Venus, from the movie "King Richard."

Will Smith yells at Chris Rock from his seat at the Oscar's after physically assaulting him on stage on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Screenshot/ABC) (Screenshot/ABC)

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"So that’s the lesson Smith took from Richard Williams — that hitting someone for making an offensive comment is defending your family?" The Times asked. 

The editorial board wrote that even though Rock's joke might have been "poor taste," considering Pinkett Smith was dealing with a medical condition, Smith's reaction to it was still "indefensible."

It added that the moment was about "disgracefulness and arrogance," as opposed to how it was handled when the incorrect winner of the 2017 Oscar for best picture was announced, with the director of "La La Land" showing "grace and fellowship" by handing the award to the director of the true winner, "Moonlight."

"All of us should be offended by the assault at the Oscars, and the academy should make it clear it will not go unpunished," The Times wrote. "It can start by making it clear to Smith and the public that he will not be invited back to the Oscar show next year as a guest or a presenter."

Will Smith, right, hits presenter Chris Rock on stage while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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The Times noted that Smith eventually apologized to Rock in a post on Instagram, but that it was the least he could do.

"The gravity of his actions seems to be sinking into his consciousness. But that doesn’t absolve him of having to suffer the consequences. He should not be at the Academy Awards show next year," the editorial concluded.