Socialites, get into this: The Tony Awards are making sure their guests will be protected at awards shows by introducing a new policy. It details how it will handle potential violence during the live show following the big Will Smith and Chris Rock slap at the Oscars.
Ahead of the 75th annual ceremony, producers revealed how they plan to handle an individual in the event they are the “perpetrator” in a violent incident during the live show: “The Tony Awards has a strict no violence policy,” the FAQ portion of a letter obtained by The Hollywood Reporter and sent by Tony Awards reads. “In the event of an incident, the perpetrator will be removed from the event immediately.” As Billboard notes, the Tonys are now the first known major award show to publicly implement a new no-violence policy following the Oscars.
The new show procedure comes weeks after “Best Actor” winner Will Smith slapped host Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, resulting in Smith being banned from the show and other Academy-related events for 10 years. It also forced him to resign from the Academy following the incident. Will Smith has fully accepted his consequences for slapping rock over a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith. Following his resignation, he released a statement saying, “I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate,” Smith said in a statement shared with CNN by his publicist. Smith’s statement concluded, “Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”
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Jada had stayed quiet on the incident but recently released a statment after people questioned why The Slap wasn’t included in the lineup for her “Red Table Talk” Facebook show:
“Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focused on deep healing,” a title card stated at the beginning of the episode, which was released on Facebook Watch on Wednesday.
“Some of the discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls,” the message further read. “Until then the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring and healing testimonies like that of our incredibly impressive first guest.”
Chris Rock has also decided to stay pretty quite on the incident. He did mention during a standup show that he’s still “trying to process it all.”
Press play below to watch the uncensored moment Will Smith smacks Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, drops F-bomb
RELATED: Chris Rock Keeping Lips Sealed On Will Smith Oscars Slap Until He ‘Gets Paid’