ON MUTE

Academy Bosses Held Secret Zoom Meeting With Will Smith After Slap: Report

The conversation lasted roughly half an hour, by one source’s estimation, with Smith apologizing and trying to explain his actions.

Two executives of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences reportedly spoke with Will Smith on Tuesday in the wake of Sunday’s Oscars, where Smith climbed onstage and slapped comedian Chris Rock over a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The conversation, held on Zoom, lasted about half an hour, one source who spoke to Variety estimated. Another only called the meeting “brief.” On Zoom, Smith reportedly apologized to Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson. He also tried to explain his actions, saying he was aware there would be consequences, Variety reported. On Wednesday, Rubin and Hudson convened the academy’s Board of Governors for an emergency meeting on Smith’s behavior. Attendees who spoke to Variety said they could not recall either Rubin or Hudson mentioning the previous day’s private discussion with Smith. After the board’s meeting, the academy issued a letter condemning Smith and announcing a “formal review” into the matter. The letter, signed by Rubin and Hudson, said the organization was “upset and outraged” that Smith’s actions had cast a pall over the evening’s ceremony.