With information from Variety
Will Smith has been a professional movie star for three decades. It’s a job that comes with a grueling and absorbing level of scrutiny, but Smith never seemed to buckle under the weight of exposure.
On red carpets, he stormed in front of the cameras and seemed to feed off the energy of screaming fans. In interviews and late-night appearances, he’d be up for anything, revealing a few intimate details (okay, maybe a little too intimate at times) while maintaining enough of a privacy barrier to keep his A-list status intact.
In professional settings, at lunches and dinners with Oscar voters, Smith worked the room, making eye contact, remembering names, and clasping shoulders and arms in displays of sincerity with a fluidity that would put seasoned politicians to shame. She was the consummate celebrity.
So Smith’s violent outburst at last Sunday’s Oscars came as a shock to the fans who have loved him and to the dozens of studio executives, directors, producers and managers who have orbited the actor for years.
Sure, Smith could be demanding, expecting the kind of luxuries, material comforts, and deference that comes with being a top-tier leading man, but he also tended to be gracious and generous, with an artist’s innate ability to always know when the viewer’s gaze was wrong. The public had turned to him.
That’s what made his decision to storm the stage and attack comedian Chris Rock in the middle of Hollywood’s biggest night so uncharacteristic and deeply disturbing. Smith, after he had spent almost a full day, offered an apology to Rock, the Academy and the spectators the day after the ceremony.
But his actions could tarnish his carefully cultivated image and impact his career. He will no doubt spoil what should have been one of the proudest moments of his professional life, a best actor win for his work in King Richard.
Already on Friday afternoon his resignation from the Film Academy was known through a statement. “I betrayed the trust of the Academy and deprived the nominees and winners of an opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for his extraordinary work,” he simply explained.
David Rubin, president of the organization, accepted the resignation and explained in a statement that “we continue with our sanction process.” In fact, suspension and expulsion were among the measures contemplated. The Academy will report on April 18 of the punishment, US media report.
“Change takes time and I am committed to working to ensure that violence never again trumps reason. My actions were shocking, painful and unjustifiable… I am heartbroken,” Smith said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Insiders outlet blamed him for his incoherent and self-righteous acceptance speech, during which he did not directly apologize to Rock, and for his decision to go out and celebrate at high-profile events such as the Vanity Fair party. “It was a masterclass in celebrity law,” said a public relations guru who does not work with Smith.
It’s hard to say how much Smith stands to lose from the crisis. The actor doesn’t do much in the way of endorsement deals, though he does serve as an ambassador for FitBit through his YouTube Originals docu-series, ‘Best Shape of My Life.’ We will see what happens to this celebrity in the coming days and the repercussions of it.
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