BAFTA Revealed They Would Have Removed Will Smith From Their Show After Slap Incident

The 94th Academy Awardshow certainly left an impression on everyone. Days after the incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock happened, the internet is still abuzz with news concerning the reactions of fellow celebrities and other award shows.

One award show that had something to say is the British Academy. The BAFTA TV Award show is slated for May 8 and recently released its pick of nominees. The award show’s executives recently appeared in an interview and talked about how they would have handled the Smith-Rock situation if it had happened during their show.

They said Smith would be escorted out of the premises immediately and be unable to receive whatever awards meant for him that night. They added that the award show didn’t tolerate violence regardless of its instigator.

The British Academy recently revealed that if Smith had slapped a presenter during their award show, he would have been shown the door. This would have stopped the actor from receiving whatever award to be presented that night.

The BAFTA TV Award nominations were recently released, and the British Academy executives appeared in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. While talking about the Sunday event during the Oscars, the chair of BAFTA’s television committee and deputy chair of BAFTA, Sara Putt, said if a similar incident occurred, the individual wouldn’t be allowed to take any award.

She said, “They would be removed from the ceremony. They would not be in the buildings, so they would not physically be able to collect their award.” The executive director of awards and content Emma Baehr added, “We do not tolerate violence of any kind.” She also emphasized the BAFTA and their bullying harassment guidelines.

Prior to winning his first Oscar award last Sunday, Smith also took home his first BAFTA award for best male lead for his role as the titular character in the "King Richard" movie.

The star was unavailable to receive his award in person, instead the director of the movie, Marcus Green accepted the award on his behalf.

The recently concluded Oscars award show had more in store for the attendees and viewers than expected. The night took a turn when Smith responded to Rock’s comment about his wife, Jada’s hair, or lack of, by getting physical with him.

Jada is currently sporting a shaved haircut due to a medical condition. When the comedian poked fun at her look, comparing her to film character, “G.I Jane,” Smith didn’t find it funny. Rock reportedly said, “Jade, G.1 Jane 2, I can’t wait to see it.”

The actress rolled her eyes, visibly annoyed by the joke. Smith, on his part, decided to take action and got on stage to slap the “Grown Ups” actor in front of the shocked crowd, then walked back to his seat. Rock tried to play it off by saying, “Wow, Will Smith just smacked the s** out of me.” Smith responded by shouting, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f--ing mouth.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released a letter concerning the incident between Smith and Rock. Via Variety, the letter read that the incident “upset and enraged” the leadership and cast a cloud on what was to be a celebration of cinema.

It said, “Sunday’s telecast of the 94th Oscars was meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year. We are upset and outraged that those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior on stage by a nominee.”

The letter also noted that the “Academy’s Board of Governors will now make a determination on appropriate action for Mr Smith.” It was signed by Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson. The Academy scheduled a meeting for Wednesday night to fully discuss the matter and reach a conclusion.

Following his physical altercation with Rock, Smith received the Best Actor award for his performance in “King Richard.” During his acceptance speech, the actor apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees, leaving out Rock.

After the award show, the “Hancock” actor took to social media to apologize to Rock. He revealed that while he had no problem handling jokes about himself, he had a much harder time with comments concerning his wife’s medical condition.

He wrote, “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line, and I was wrong. I am embarrassed, and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

Smith apologized to the Academy and the show producers, including everyone present and viewers at home. He included the Williams family and his cast for “King Richard” movie, which won him the Oscar. “I am a work in progress,” he concluded.