“Don’t even think of it as an awards show,” Noah said of the ceremony. “It’s a concert where we award prizes, we listen to music, we dance, we sing, we keep people’s names out of our mouths and we give people prizes all night. So let’s get straight to it. “ Questlove also referred to Will Smith’s slap in the face at the Grammy Awards for Song of the Year, saying: As they say, it is much better to give than to receive. “Well, I’m not so sure about that because last Sunday I felt very good receiving it.” Questlove won the Academy Award for Feature Documentary shortly after Will Smith’s slap on Chris Rock. Both Smith and Rock discussed the incident themselves in the days following the Oscars. Smith apologized to Rock on March 28. The actor posted a statement on social media, writing: “My behavior at yesterday’s Oscars was unacceptable and unjustified. … I would like to apologize publicly to you, Chris. I was off the line and I was wrong. I am ashamed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be “. Rock waited until his stand-up comedy show on March 30 in Boston to speak publicly about the slap, although the comedian mostly avoided talking about the incident. Rock told the audience: “I do not have many things about what happened, so if you’ve heard it, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I’m still working on what happened. Well, at some point I’ll talk about this shit. And it will be serious and funny. “ There have been mixed reports since then about how the Academy and the Oscar producers should have handled the incident during the ceremony. The academy claimed to have asked Smith to leave, but the actor refused. However, sources told Variety that Smith was never formally invited to leave the event. Oscar-winning producer Will Packer told “Good Morning America” that he asked the Academy not to “physically remove” Smith from the facility because it was not what Rock wanted. Although the LAPD was ready to arrest Smith, Rock declined to prosecute or report. Smith announced on April 1 that he was resigning from the Academy. He is still facing “suspension, expulsion or other sanctions” from the Academy, which condemned his violent actions after the Oscars. The next meeting of the Board of Directors of the Academy is scheduled for April 18.
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