ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURES ARTS AND SCIENCE: COVERING UP FOR WILL SMITH?

ICHEOKU says when did the police start seeking the consent of a victim before making an arrest of a person who committed a crime? Is the practice not to first arrest and take into custodial detention of such a person before any prosecutorial decision is made, based on the victim's willingness to press charges and testify against the offender during prosecution. So what exactly is the academy telling us, that the police sought Chris Rock's approval to do their job and  that it was not given, following which they did not arrest Will Smith.

A crime of battery was committed and the police whose duty is to "protect and serve" should have summarily arrested the perpetrator of the crime Will Smith. They did not need anyone's consent, including that of Chris Rock, to do what their job demands of them. The academy is so full of it as their ineptitude was glaringly obvious that evening as they choked when they should have manned up as expected and squarely faced down a joker who took the shine out of the Oscars while pretending to be a toughie. Why did the academy allow Will Smith to get away with murdering the Oscars and did not show him instant retribution by bundling him out of the event center.

That the academy allowed a person who committed such egregious disrespect to the academy, disregarded the solemnity of the occasion and perpetrated a great act of violence on a host of the Oscars hired by the academy is the height of willful indifference to the safety and security of those present at the Oscars. If their host could be so easily smacked in the mouth by Will Smith, how did they know that Will Smith has not lost his marbles and could tee off on other persons at the venue. Why did they allow him to remain in the venue following what he did, and not bundle him out, hogtied if need be. 

When did the decision to protect people from a potential harm and injury become so subjective that the decision or lack thereof to remove Will Smith from the event center has to even be debated? Who do these people think that we are, a bunch of dumbos who cannot fathom a thing, right? This is an academy which parades itself as anti violence and does not condone violence of any type. Yet they are telling us that Will Smith was asked to leave but he refused.When did a guest assume such a power of refusal to a host's wishes and demand that he left, that his will triumphs over the law? 

When he refused to leave, what other measures did the academy deploy to counter his refusal? Did the academy effectively communicate their demand that he left the venue and if yes, why did they not impose their will on him by asking the security detail to physically remove him as is done on every mischief maker who tried to rock the boat of any event. Why did they proceed with giving him an Oscars award; tolerated a thundering standing up ovation for him and allowed the world audience to listen through his painful and pitiful apology of no apology? Their tale by the moonlight is that they told him to leave and he refused, case closed. What a very interesting hogwash of a narrative.

Will Smith has now resigned his membership of the academy but that alone is not enough. He should also renounce his Oscars award as unmerited and undeserving, and return the same to the academy with immediate effect. He has lost his role-model status and with it, the respect of his peers as well as detractors. Will Smith is now a salt which has lost its taste and should be thrown away as bland sand. The academy should stop insulting everyone's intelligence with all these lame excuses they are making for why Will Smith was not removed from the venue and his Oscars award not taken away from him. 

These excuses are lame and it is even lamer for the academy to think that we bought into their excuses for why they handled Will Smith's battery on Chris Rock so tepidly. We are no fools to believe such tales because according to Tupac, "our mothers didn't raise no fools"; and we are not fools. Will Smith definitely crossed the redline and his crime was unpardonable. He should have been fired from the academy but he has instead chosen to resign. It is a welcome development which should be applauded because it is the right thing to do. Now, the revocation of his Oscar, arrest and prosecution should follow immediately. #TakeTheDamnOscarsAway.