Billy Crystalis giving his take onWill Smith’s controversialOscarsoutburst.
Crystal — who has hosted the Academy Awards nine times — shared his opinion on the shocking moment when Smith, 53, walked onstage and slapped presenterChris Rockafter the comedian made a joke about his wifeJada Pinkett Smith.
While appearing onBob Costas' HBO Max seriesBack on the Record, Crystal gave his thoughts on the “most disturbing incident,” telling Costas, “It was an assault. I’ve had experiences. I hosted the Grammys three times and I’ve been thrown things,” perDeadline.
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Crystal, 74, also reflected on his own experience hostingthe Oscars. The actorfirst hosted in 1990and went on to host subsequent shows in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004 and, most recently, 2012.
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He told Costas, “In [Oscars] pre-production, the amazing Gil Cates, we would go through — he was the producer for six of the nine that I did — we would go through the rundown and I’d say, ‘Maybe I should be there because something might happen there. If that person wins, I should follow that.’ "
Crystal, who has said hewouldn’t host the Oscars again if asked, continued, “I sort of set myself up to host the show, really host the show, so you can tie it together. So whenever I see shows that it’s a no-host show, yeah it went faster, but there’s nobody there to capitalize on anything and give the audience the feeling of there’s somebody in charge.”
Will remained at the ceremony following the incident and won Best Actor for his role inKing Richardshortly after slapping Rock. He issued an apology to Rock the following day on Instagram.
“I would like to publicly apologizeto you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong,” Will wrote, in part. “I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
After the Academylaunched an inquiryinto Will’s actions at the award show, the actorresigned from the Academyon Friday.
source: people.com
