Could Will Smith be stripped of Oscar for slapping Chris Rock? Unlikely, if history is a guide

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was imprisoned for 23 years for sex crimes in March 2020 and banned from the Academy — but he retained his Oscar for Shakespeare in Love.

Will Smith slaps Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on 27 March 2022 | Photographer: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images via Bloomberg

When actor Will Smith strode onto the Oscars stage on Sunday night to slap comedian Chris Rock, the collective gasp of the audience was amplified around the world as Twitter and YouTube went into hyperdrive.

Minutes later Smith was handed the Best Actor Oscar for his role in King Richard, while debate raged across social media about whether the actor should be punished — and if so, how?

So, will Will be stripped of his Oscar? If history is any guide, it’s unlikely.

In Oscars history, just one award has had to be returned. In 1969 Young Americans won the Best Documentary Feature Award, which was revoked after it was later found to have been released too early to have been eligible for nomination, according to movie site IMDB.

Other big names in the industry have been removed from Hollywood’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but all have retained their awards. Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was imprisoned for 23 years for sex crimes in March 2020 and banned from the Academy — but he retains his Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, awarded in 1998. Others kicked out of the Academy in the wake of the #MeToo movement include Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski.

So what of Will Smith? The Academy said in a statement that it “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.” – Bloomberg.