Many celebrities have been weighing in about the controversial slap heard ‘round the world at the Academy Awards on Sunday night. As always,Howard Sternwas among them, taking to his radio show on Monday to share his thoughts on the situation withWill Smithslapping Chris Rock. Not one to hold back, Stern makes it clear that he feels appalled by Smith’s behavior, noting that he saw it to be a sign of “great mental illness.”
“This is a sign of great mental illness when you can’t control your impulse. Not only that, it was hardly an insulting joke. It was not even a good joke… He got up and he compared Jada Pinkett Smith to one of the most beautiful women in the world, Demi Moore. You don’t hit people over speech, certainly not at the Academy Awards, and Will Smith’s got to contain himself. [He’s] a guy who’s got real issues. He didn’t think twice about what he was about to do. Now that’s crazy, when you can’t contain yourself like that.”
Stern goes on to note his frustration at the assault going unpunished at the Oscars at a time when “cancel culture” has been at its peak, with other celebrities seemingly facing harsher consequences for smaller infractions. As Stern says:
“Here’s Hollywood that’s so outraged by every little thing. Not one person got up and said, ‘Hold on, we got an out-of-control situation here.’ How this guy was allowed to sit there for the rest of the awards? He’s laughing it up and having a good time with his wife. What he did was he just assaulted Chris Rock."
The shock jock also theorizes that the real reason no one got involved was because Smith is a beloved celebrity, and is therefore able to be forgiven for this kind of behavior much more easily than your average person. Stern says it reminds him of Donald Trump, another celebrity who has a very large fan base regardless of his angry outbursts on television. He also questions if Smith would’ve reacted the same way if the person making the joke wasn’t so much smaller than him, as was the case with Rock.
“The first thing I said to my wife, ‘The f–k is going on? Is this a bit? Because, where’s security?’ This is a live television event. Not one person came out, because he’s Will Smith. This is how [Donald] Trump gets away with s–t. Will Smith and Trump are the same guy. He decided he’s going to take matters into his own hands, at a time when the world is at war. Bad timing, man, calm your f–king ass down… If Jason Momoa would have made that joke, [Smith], like a b**ch, would have sat there in his seat. He would have said, ‘Thank you for acknowledging my wife, Mr. Momoa.'”
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Will Smith’s Actions Are Now Under Formal Review by the Academy
Initially, The Academy’s only public response to the slapping was to post a statement stating they do not “condone violence.” Because Smith was still awarded a Best Actor award that night with seemingly no consequences, there has been a great deal of backlash with unhappy viewers calling for something to be done. Many are saying that Smith should be held criminally liable or perhaps lose his Oscar as a punishment for the attack, otherwise it may send the message that the Academy tolerates violence at its ceremony.
“The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show," reads a new statement clarifying their stance. “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.”
Others in the industry have been commenting on the situation. ComicKathy Griffin tweeted, “Let me tell you something, it’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a comedian. Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”
“He could have killed him,” filmmaker Judd Apatow also said in a since-deleted tweet. “That’s pure out of control rage and violence. They’ve heard a million jokes about them in the last three decades. They are not freshman in the world of Hollywood and comedy. He lost his mind.”
