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David Oyelowois sharing his thoughts on the incident at theOscarsinvolvingWill SmithandChris Rock, reflecting on race and equality.
TheSelmastar, 46, wrote a guest column inThe Hollywood Reporteron Thursday, in which he discussed his reaction toSmith smacking Rock, which he witnessed in person as an attendee of the Academy Awards ceremony on March 27.
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“An older white gentleman sidled up to me with relish in his demeanor and said, ‘He should have been dragged right out of there,’ " Oyelowo wrote, in reference to Smith. “You may well agree with that sentiment, but it’s not what he said, it’s thewayhe said it. I know that relish. I know that demeanor, and it is ugly to its core in all of its coded messaging.”
While he singled out this one anecdote, the Emmy nominee contextualized the encounter within a changing Hollywood and awards landscape — noting that the industry has made “great gains” since #OscarsSoWhite — and openly wondered whether the slap would erode some of the progress the industry has made toward a more inclusive and equitable atmosphere.
“In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the entertainment industry made a lot of pledges to increase the diversity of our business. Some intentional. Some ceremonial. My fear is that this unfortunate incident, which has us all processing, will have a negative effect on the ongoing push for inclusion,” he wrote.
“There are those who, in a bid to make sure something of this nature never happens again, will operate through an unconscious — or conscious — bias. A bias that still governs so much of the decision-making in Hollywood. It would be tragic if a bid to prevent such an incident from happening again becomes an excuse for ideas about inclusion and diversity to backslide.”
RELATED VIDEO: Chris Rock Shuts Down Audience Member Cursing OutWill Smithat His Comedy Show in Boston
On Oscars Sunday, Smith, 53, struck comedian Rock, 57, immediately after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife,Jada Pinkett Smith, potentially being in aG.I. Janesequel.
The actress andRed Table Talkhost, 50, hasbeen embracing her hair lossbecause she has alopecia, which also causes bald spots.
After Smith walked back to his seat, he yelled from the audience, “Keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth.”
For more on the Will Smith-Chris Rock incident at the Oscars, listen below to our daily podcast onPEOPLE Every Day.
Smith indirectly addressed his behavior later in the telecast, during his own acceptance speech for the Best Actor statuette for his performance inKing Richard. The actor has sinceapologized on Instagramand in a media statement, in which he alsoresigned as a memberof the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the governing body behindthe Oscars.
AMPAS, for its part,has moved up a previously-scheduled meetingfrom April 18 to this Friday to discuss any further sanctions or consequences for the actor in light of his behavior, citing the organization’s code of conduct.
source: people.com
