Minnie Driver says Chris Rock ‘was abandoned by producers and The Academy’ after Will Smith slapped him

Gilbert Gottfried showed support for Chris Rock in his final days. Gottfried, one of the most recognizable voices in show business, died after a long illness on Tuesday. He was 67.

Gayle King is weighing in on the most recent development in the ongoing aftermath of Will Smith hitting Chris Rock in the face during this year's Oscars.The veteran TV news journalist sparkled in a gorgeous, custom, pink Marc Bouwer gown on the red carpet at the 2022 CMT Music Awards on Monday in Nashville, and she spoke with ET's Rachel Smith about the latest turn in the Hollywood scandal — namely, Smith being banned from attending Academy events for the next 10 years.«I think the whole thing is so unfortunate,» King shared, adding, «I think there have to be consequences to your actions.»«I have no idea what's right, what's wrong, I don't. But the whole thing makes me so sad, because I like them both,» she added.According to King, she's «really pulling» for Chris Rock following the high-profile incident, sharing, «I just want him to be fine.»«And it seems Will is very regretful and very remorseful, and that's an important first step,» King shared.The decision to ban Smith from future Academy events was announced on Friday.In a letter addressed to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences family, and obtained by ET, Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said the Board of Governors in a Friday meeting concluded that «for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr.

Billy Crystal called Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards "an assault." The nine-time Oscars host spoke about the "disturbing incident" during an appearance on "Back on the Record" with Bob Costas on HBO Max. Smith slapped Rock in the face on stage after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head. "It was a most disturbing incident, for sure," Crystal told Costas.

Will Smith has now resigned from the Academy following the viral incident he was involved in at the Oscars. The acclaimed actor slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face during the ceremony held on Sunday, March 27, in response to a joke made about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Will Packer is opening up about Will Smith's altercation with Chris Rock at the awards show last Sunday in a new interview with set to air Friday. aired a clip from the interview during their broadcast Thursday night, and Packer explained that LAPD officers were at the Dolby Theatre, and were willing to take Smith into custody after he struck Rock in the face during the ceremony.«They were saying, ‘This is battery.’ That was the word they used in that moment,» Packer recalled. «They said, ‘We will go get him.

While plenty of people are rallying behind Chris Rock in the wake of The Slap, others are trying to keep the focus on the fact he crossed the line by making an insensitive joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia condition.

During the 2022 Academy Awards on March 27, viewers had a perfect glimpse at Will Smith slapping Chris Rock across the face over a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith‘s bald head. We saw Jada, 50, initially roll her eyes at the insult, while Will, 53, laughed it off at first. But then, seemingly after seeing his wife upset, the King Richard star got up from his seat to smack Chris, 57. Jada’s reaction was not visible on the screen during the shocking incident. But now things have changed.

Joseph Patel criticized Will Smith and Chris Rock for the events that led up to "Summer of Soul" winning the Oscar for best documentary feature Sunday night. The "Summer of Soul" producer accused Smith of robbing the category of its moment after he slapped Rock on stage before the comedian announced the award. "It robbed the category of its moment," the producer wrote in since-deleted tweets, People magazine noted.

Minnie Driver has taken to social media to call out the Academy for its lack of action after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is beginning “disciplinary proceedings” against Will Smith — and they have already revealed some shocking new details about what happened in the wake of the incident!

A heavy moment. Willow Smith subtly weighed in after her father, Will Smith, slapped Chris Rock in the face at the 2022 Oscars.

most controversial night in Oscars history. The 94th Academy Awards were, of course, marred by Will Smith slapping presenter Chris Rock in the face after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head. Kimmel, whose show runs on ABC, the same network that carries the Oscars, began by showing the clip of Smith walking up on stage and striking Rock in front of the audience.

2022 Oscars will forever be remembered for the so-called slap heard 'round the world, when Will Smith stormed onstage and slapped presenter Chris Rock in the face before returning to his seat and proceeding to cuss him out, all over a joke Rock made at the expense of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.The moment was unsettling, unexpected, confusing and changed the atmosphere for the remainder of the evening. But as chaotic as things were in the theater, a source tells ET that it was much more so backstage.«Behind the scenes there were a lot of people, different voices and opinions all weighing in on what had just happened, and what was the right course of action,» the source says of the moments immediately following the altercation.The moment came as a surprise to all involved, and even the producers of the show apparently had to figure out if this was an unplanned stunt between Smith and Rock, and if Rock was hurt.«There were just minutes to first figure out if it was a stunt,» the source recalls, «and then try and get people on the same page including the producers, ABC, the Academy, reps — who were not all in the same place physically or looking at their phones in real time.»The sources adds that «people were checking that Chris Rock was OK.... and to see if Chris even wanted to press charges.»In a statement to ET on Sunday night, after the Oscars came to a close, the LAPD said they were aware of the incident but that «the individual involved has declined to file a police report.»«LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program,» the statement read.

Sunday's shocking turn of events at the 2022 Oscars, Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in the face is all anyone was talking about on social media, and proved to be rich comedic fodder for late-night talk show hosts.One host who had particular insight into how wild the night must have truly been was Jimmy Kimmel — who famously hosted the Oscars ceremony in 2017, during which the wrong Best Picture winner was announced, with presenters mistakenly naming instead of the real winner, «I'm a little bummed because now I've hosted only the second craziest Oscars of all time! I only had three years to enjoy that,» Kimmel quipped during his opening monologue.«A lot of my friends have been texting me asking what I would have done if I was host.