A previously undisclosed brief virtual meeting between Will Smith and David Rubin, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and CEO Don Hudson on March 29 could create a new crisis to hit the Oscars.
The six minute zoom call started King Richard The Rubin and Hudson stars have mainly seen Smith apologize, again, for slapping Chris Rock during a Sunday live TV broadcast.
The new shockwave is hitting hard because those who initiated disciplinary action against Smith at the Academy’s Board of Governors meeting yesterday did not know it.
“Why would they keep it from us?” An insider who attended Wednesday’s board meeting shouted. “It only contributes to a climate of suspicion and a lack of leadership.”
Apparently contradictory information is now circulating about how Smith was asked to leave Dolby after allegedly hitting Rock and refusing, with the nearly 50-member board of governors set to meet on April 18 to find a suitable solution to the situation. . Fracturing based on the news of Rubin and Hudson’s March 29 virtual meeting with Smith.
“What else do we know about what happened or what happened on Sunday?” Another well-positioned academy member says the interaction between Smith and Rubin and Hudson.
The AMPAS member added, “This lack of clarity weakens our ability to come to a proper resolution of the whole issue.”
Rubin and Hudson hear Smith’s apology about how Jada Pinkett lost it from the rock “GI Jane 2” joke on Smith’s bald head. Rubin and Hudson told Smith that a meeting was being held with the governors to determine what disciplinary action should be taken against the Oscar winner. King Richard Best Actor.
Yesterday, the Board of Governors called and Smith agreed by a majority to investigate the dispute. Their next board meeting on April 18 will decide what disciplinary action may be taken against the Oscar winner. This may include suspension, expulsion, or other restrictions approved by the bylaws and standards of conduct. Although Smith may be expelled from AMPAS, many sources do not believe he will lose his Oscar.
AMPAS said in a statement on Wednesday that “although we want to make it clear that Mr Smith was asked to leave the event and was refused, we also acknowledge that we could have handled the situation differently.”
However, on Sunday night, Smith’s relatives said that no one associated with AMPAS had asked him to leave the Dolby Theater directly; Rather, the idea was conveyed to the actor by Oscar Brass through Smith’s publicist.
Will Packer is the first person at the Oscars to speak publicly about what happened. Good morning America Friday morning.
That interview was teased tonight, with Packer revealing details about LAPD’s conversation with Rock on Sunday night.
“They said, ‘It’s a battery.’ They used that word at that moment, “said Packer GMAIts TJ Homes. “They said, ‘We’re going to take him. We are ready. We’re going to pick him up right now. You can charge. We can arrest him. They were laying alternatives. And while they were talking, Chris was, he dismissed those options very much. He said, ‘No, I’m fine. She wasn’t, no, no. And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish. LAPD officers ended up determining what his options were. And they said, ‘Do you want us to take action? And he said no. “
Smith and academy representatives did not return requests for comment.
The first diversion between Smith and Oscar officials to report on Tuesday’s call.