How A Famous Award Show Plans To Prevent Its Own Version Of The Will Smith Slap Drama
The Tony Awards does not want a repeat of the Will Smith-Chris Rock situation at their awards show.
When the highly controversial Slap Gate happened, many raised their brows at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for allowing Smith to return to his seat after he had slapped Rock on live television. But after the 2022 Oscars, they tweeted that their organization "does not condone violence of any form." It had taken a few weeks until they came up with their next course of action, which ended up with Smith being slapped with a 10-year ban. "The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards," Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement, per CNN.
Smith also took it upon himself to resign from the Academy after the ruckus he caused. "Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason," the actor announced in a statement, per The New York Times. It's only natural for other awards shows to take what had happened at the Oscars as a warning, and so the Tony Awards issued a strict rule for their upcoming event.
The Tony Awards issued a 'no violence' policy
Just like the Academy, the Tony Awards organizers said that they will not tolerate violence on the show in any shape or form.
In an email sent to potential ticket buyers, the FAQ section contained a warning detailing what would happen to attendees who inflict violence during the event. "The Tony Awards has a strict no violence policy," it read, per Deadline. "In the event of an incident, the perpetrator will be removed from the event immediately."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Tony Awards are the first awards show to issue a strict no-violence policy after the Oscars controversy. While there is no history of any similar incident happening on the Tonys stage, it's great that the producers are taking the necessary precautions to prevent such an event from occurring. The 2022 Tony Awards won't happen until June 12, but now we know that they're making an effort to turn it into a safe space for artists and guests.