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Will Smith gets 10-year BAN, fans slam Academy's 'double standards' over 'harsh' verdict

Many claimed the move was racially motivated whereas others added that nothing happened to celebrities like Jim Carrey and Harvey Weinstein

The Academy might not have stripped Will Smith off his Oscar award but the actor finally got the punishment 12 days after he slapped Chris Rock on stage after the latter cracked a balding joke on his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. This resulted in the ‘Men in Black’ star getting banned from the Oscars for 10 years. In an official press release, the Academy spoke of Will’s “unacceptable and harmful behavior”.
 
Will Smith getting banned from Oscars for 10 years did not go down well with his fans as they flocked to Twitter and extended their support. Many claimed the move was racially motivated whereas others added that nothing happened to celebrities like Jim Carrey and Hervey Weinstein over their alleged assault cases. Speaking of Will, the actor had apologized right after slapping Chris Rock and had also resigned from the Academy.
 
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Will Smith gets banned from Oscars for 10 years

The official letter sent by president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson, as reported by CBS News, said, “The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage.”
 
The letter further stated, “Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith's actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards."
 
Smith later responded to the letter in a brief statement saying, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”  The Academy in their letter also applauded how Chris Rock handled the entire situation. “We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances”, said the letter adding, “We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast.”

‘The racism and double standards here stinks’

Reacting to Smith getting banned, one user stated, “Will Smith being banned from the Oscars for 10 years is astounding. They really kept giving awards to known sexual abusers and pedophiles, but a slap is really where they’re going to start banning people.” Another shared, “Who else DOESN’T give a rat’s a** if Will Smith was banned from anything?”
 
One user posted, “Will Smith banned from Academy events - OK. He resigned so might not. But 10 years is harsh & smacks of criminalising him when White male Oscar winners who’ve done bad & worse are not banned. The Racism & Double Standards here stinks. The ideology of Whiteness is a sickness.” The next one added, “This is 100% racially motivated. Jim Carrey sexually assaulted a woman live on stage and she was visually distressed. Will Smith slaps a dude for mocking an illness and gets banned for a decade.” Another said, “Will Smith being banned from the Oscars for 10 years is just straight up racism at this point. It was a slap. Not okay to do. A f**king slap. Yet they would let Harvey Weinstein come for decades knowing he raped and took advantage of women for the same amount of time.”  And, one concluded, “Will smith is banned for 10 years but the academy is mute on actual predators and abusers.”