Actress Whoopi Goldberg is responding to reports that Will Smith was asked to leave the Oscars after he slapped Chris Rock on Sunday night.
Although TMZ recently issued a report saying that the “King Richard” was not asked to leave, Whoopi – a member of the Academy’s Board of Governors – insisted “He actually was. He was asked to leave.” However, it should be noted that Whoopi was not actually present at Sunday night’s ceremony.
Whoopi Goldberg Says ‘You’re Up Before You Even Know You’ve Done Something Stupid’
CHRIS ROCK SAYS HE’S STILL “PROCESSING WHAT HAPPENED”: The comedian broke his silence on what happened between him and Will Smith at the #Oscars as the Academy says Smith refused to leave after the altercation – #TheView co-hosts and @TaraSetmayer react. https://t.co/e6mZPfg8Kd pic.twitter.com/AEG1jm7xIX
— The View (@TheView) March 31, 2022
On Thursday’s episode of “The View,” Whoopi admitted “there are things that I do know” about the event even though she was not there. When asked why Smith was asked to leave instead of ordered out by security, Whoopi tried to paint a picture of what it might have looked like that night.
“They come back from back from break, now if [Smith] is in some sort of state and he’s struggling and you’re trying to get him out the door and it’s on camera,” she pointed out.
She mentioned that Oscar producers considered that the “Pursuit of Happiness” actor might have been having “a manic moment, because that’s not what he’s known for, smacking people and stuff.”
On Tuesday, however, Whoopi said that she supported producer Will Packer’s decision not to boot Smith from the event. “I believe [producer] Will Packer made the right decision, he said let’s get to the rest of this so we can deal with it wholeheartedly,” she said on Tuesday’s episode. “This is not the first time craziness has happened on stage, but this is the first time we’ve seen anybody assault anybody on stage.”
When guest co-host Tara Setmayer called out those in the audience for giving Smith a standing ovation for receiving his Best Actor Oscar, Whoopi seemed to come to their defense. “Now just take a minute – do you really think the audience was applauding him hitting Chris Rock?” she asked. “I think it was just people got up and did dumb stuff because they thought, okay, everybody is up.”
She later added, “You’re up before you even know you’ve done something stupid.”
Jim Carrey Says That He Was ‘Sickened’ By The Standing Ovation
Responses to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars have been divided — but Jenna Wortham (@jennydeluxe) says most people don’t have the full story of the incident.
“It’s something of a magnitude that I don’t think can be worked out on a public stage,” she says. pic.twitter.com/5qXIq30Y1F
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) March 29, 2022
“The Mask” actor Jim Carrey said that he was “sickened by the standing ovation” that Smith received during an interview on CBS Mornings with host Gayle King.
“Hollywood is just spineless en masse and it really felt like this is a really clear indication that we aren’t the cool club anymore,” he said.
“The Truman Show” star also ventured that Smith should have been arrested for assault, but said that Chris Rock “didn’t want the hassle” when King pointed out that Chris Rock had decided not to press criminal charges against him.
“I’d have announced this morning that I was suing Will for 200 million dollars because that video is going to be there forever, it’s going to be ubiquitous,” Carrey continued. “That insult is gonna last a very long time. If you want to yell from the audience and show disapproval or say something on Twitter, you do not have the right to walk up on stage and smack somebody in the face ‘cuz they said words.”
When King offered that things “escalated,” Carrey interrupted her, saying, “It didn’t escalate. It came out of nowhere because Will has something going on inside him that’s frustrated.”
“I wish him the best, I really do. I don’t have anything against Will Smith. He’s done great things,” he continued. “But that was not a good moment. It cast a pall over everybody’s shining moment. A lot of people worked really hard to get to that place.”
“And to have their moment in the sun, to get their award for the really hard work they did, it is no mean feat to go through all the stuff you have to go through when you are nominated for an Oscar,” he added. “It’s a gauntlet of devotion you have to do. It was such a selfish moment that cast a pall over the whole thing.”
