The Academy Has Moved Up Their Board Meeting To Discuss Possible Sanctions Against Will Smith

Cue up the part in MLK’s speech where he says “free at last,” because we’re one step closer to putting The Slap (pictured above, emblazoned on the Berlin Wall) behind us. According to CNN, The Academy of Motion Picture Sciences has moved up the date for their board meeting to discuss possible sanctions against Will Smith for walking on stage and slapping Chris Rock during the Oscars telecast on March 27th. Originally scheduled for April 18th, the meeting will now be held tomorrow, April 8th, at 9 am. And here I was under the impression that they were waiting so long because they had to interview every single person who witnessed that shit, starting with Lupita Nyong’o all the way up to Ruth McCurdy of DeKalb, Illinois, to ask them their opinion before making their assessment of what, if any, actions to bring against him. Why else would it take so long? We all saw what happened!

However, that was not the reason for scheduling their tribunal for April 18th, a full three weeks after Chris got rocked. As it turns out, per California law and their own Standards of Conduct, The Academy was required to give Will 15-days’ notice before facing possible expulsion. But thanks to Will’s preemptive resignation, Ruth no longer has to sit by the phone waiting for her turn to tell Academy president David Rubin how watching that nice Bagger Vance fellow slap that comedian guy made her feel. She probably already posted about it on Facebook anyway. CNN reports:

The Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences has moved up its planned date to decide on possible sanctions against Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock at this year’s Oscars ceremony.

“I am calling a board meeting for this Friday morning, April 8, at 9:00 am PT, rather than the previously scheduled April 18 meeting, to address possible sanctions for Will Smith in response to his actions during the Oscars broadcast on March 27,” Academy president David Rubin stated in a letter obtained by CNN Wednesday.

“The April 18 date was set in accordance with California law and our Standards of Conduct because our agenda included possible suspension or expulsion of Mr. Smith from membership,” the letter reads. “We were required to provide Mr. Smith notice 15 days prior to the board meeting at which such action might be taken, and also give him the opportunity to provide the board a written statement no less than five days prior to that meeting.

According to the letter, in light of Smith resigning from the Academy last Friday, “suspension or expulsion are no longer a possibility and the legally prescribed timetable no longer applies.”

“It is in the best interest of all involved for this to be handled in a timely fashion,” Rubin wrote.

While this is good news for most, I can’t help but think about the millions of JoJo Siwa fans who will now never know how The Slap made her feel. Without taking part in The Academy’s investigation, we only have the comments she made about the incident to Variety, from which to draw our conclusions. JoJo spoke to Variety about bailing out on her first feature film, Bounce, produced, in part, by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jada’s half brother, Caleb Pinkett. Turns out the Pinkett Smiths had nothing to do with her decision. The project fell apart prior to Slapapalooza. Variety reports:

The YouTuber, “Dancing With the Stars” contestant and highly visible LGBTQ figure told Variety that she is no longer attached to a movie adaptation of “Bounce,” based on the YA book by Megan Shull. Furthermore, insiders familiar with the project said that Paramount Pictures has also removed the project from its development slate.

“That project got put on hold, and then went away,” Siwa told Variety at the GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday. “It wasn’t the one.”

The project fell apart months ago, sources said, and its demise is not related to Smith’s assault of comedian Chris Rock at this year’s Academy Awards.

Of course, Jojo was asked about you know what, to which she had a perfectly That’s So JoJo answer.

“I normally stay out of all politics, it’s not my gig. But, I will say that being kind to one another is very important. I think that can go both ways, kindness.”

That’s a whole lot more diplomatic than what Ruth of DeKalb, Illinois, had to say! I won’t repeat it here, but let’s just say Will might be getting hit with a lawsuit from Ruth’s Maltipoo, Cece, for pain and suffering. Poor dear hasn’t stopped shaking since it happened!

Pic: Thomas Bartilla/DDP/INSTARimages.com