Oscars slap leads to dozens of FCC complaints [View all]

Will Smith’s stunning slapping of Chris Rock at the Oscars elicited dozens of complaints to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with many viewers condemning the “King Richard” star’s actions as “reprehensible” and “inappropriate.” In the complaints filed to the FCC in the aftermath of Sunday’s shocking altercation and obtained Thursday by The Hill as part of a Freedom of Information Act request, audience members nearly unanimously denounced 53-year-old Smith for getting physical with Rock.

While much of the confrontation was censored for American viewers, the episode was shown and heard in its entirety in many places abroad. “This display was disgusting and beamed directly into our living room,” an FCC complaint from Connecticut read. “I thought your agency was supposed to keep this type of violence and cursing off television. I hope you can bring sense and reason back to the public airways,” the viewer urged.

Other viewers railed not only against Smith’s “shameful” move, but also the FCC and ABC, which aired the 94th annual Academy Awards, saying the slap was the opposite of family-friendly fare. “I was so offended and triggered to see Will Smith violently assault Chris Rock on a live family program like the Oscars,” a Florida viewer wrote, saying Smith and ABC “should be held accountable.”

The majority of complaints called on Smith to be penalized in some way, with viewers saying he should be banned from future Oscars ceremonies or arrested. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that it began disciplinary proceedings against Smith for “violations of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct.”

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/3255496-oscars-slap-leads-to-dozens-of-fcc-complaints/