UnNews:Nick News: Will Smith banned from Oscars
Friday, April 15, 2022
And now a Nick News Break. You may or may not have seen the Oscars, which typically honors movies (they prefer "films") for grown-ups that nobody's ever seen or even heard of. And during the four hour broadcast, you may have seen Will Smith and Chris Rock. Well, now, The Academy, the guys in charge of the Oscars, have banned Will Smith for 10 years. And I bet you have a lot of questions.
| “ | What are the Oscars? | ” |
I just told you. They're a big pretentious award show that only PF4Eva watches that honors the so-called best of cinema, even though The Power of the Dog somehow got nominated, but we'll save that for another time.
| “ | Who's Chris Rock? | ” |
Chris Rock is a comedian who's been popular since the 1990s. In fact, he's been around longer than the Original Three Nicktoons. In his comedy, he typically says bad words you shouldn't say in front of your parents, grandparents, teacher, priest or rabbi.
| “ | Who the h[BLEEP] is Will Smith? | ” |
First of all, watch your language! Second of all, how the h[BLEEP] do you not know who Will Smith is? What are you, five? He's a popular actor who used to be a rapper. But he was one of those rappers who never said bad words in his songs. He and Jeffrey Townes billed themselves as DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince until Will's acting career skyrocketed and he started rapping under his own name. His hits include "Parents Just Don't Understand," "Nightmare on My Street," "Summertime," "Gettin' Jiggy with It," "Men in Black," and "Wild Wild West." You might know him from such movies as Independence Day, Men in Black, Shark Tale, or maybe you actually saw King Richard about Venus and Serena's father, Richard Williams. Most of his movies since 2001's Ali appeal to grown ups.
| “ | Why is Will Smith banned from the Oscars? | ” |
At this year's telecast, Chris Rock presented Best Documentary Feature (which was awarded to Summer of Soul). Before announcing the nominees, he warmed up the audience with jokes. One in particular, Rock said of Will Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, "Jada, I love you, G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it!" He was commenting on Jada's baldness. She actually has Alopecia, an autoimmune disorder which causes hair loss. While Will laughed, Jada was visibly offended. A few seconds later, Will walked onto the stage and slapped Chris Rock in the face. Ouch! That must've hurt! Will went back to his seat and said some bad words.
| “ | What does "f[BLEEP]" mean? | ” |
It's a very bad word. We're not getting into it.
| “ | But my dad says it all the time. | ” |
Nickelodeon's Standards & Practices told me I'm not allowed to talk about it. Do you want me to get fired, you little punk?
| “ | What are the terms of this ban and what's next? | ” |
Great question! Will Smith is allowed to keep his Oscar, but he is forbidden from attending any Academy-sanctioned ceremonies either in person or virtually, including the Oscars. He has already resigned from the Academy in the wake of the slapping incident.
Smith has not been criminally charged.
| “ | What's G.I. Jane? | ” |
It's a terrible, forgotten movie from 1997 starring Demi Moore as a woman who joins the Special Forces. It flopped, critics hated it and Demi won a Razzie for Worst Actress.
| “ | Is he still gonna play Falcon? | ” |
That's Anthony Mackie.
Nick News: Making sense together.
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Sophie Reardon "Will Smith banned from Oscars for 10 years, Academy says" CBS News, April 8, 2022