Opinion: The Academy condones plenty of violence.

So by now we all know. Will Smith slapped Chris Rock because Chris Rock disrespected his wife. And I could do a whole opinion post on how Black men punching down and using Black women’s health issues and looks for laughs is arguably just as violent as an open handed slap, potentially even more so, but I think everyone is sick of the hot takes on that topic. But anyway. It happened, and the Academy has something to say.

Reports suggest Will Smith may be asked to hand back his Oscar as he “broke The Academy’s code of conduct” when he hit Rock. They said “The Academy does not condone violence of any form.” But that’s not strictly true, is it Academy?

Harvey Weinstein has 81 Academy Awards.
Harvey Weinstein has been convicted of 1 count of sexual assault and 1 count of rape. He has been accused by more than a dozen women of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape. Whilst he is no longer a member of The Academy, Weinstein has not been asked to return any of his awards.

Woody Allen has 4 Academy Awards, and 24 nominations.
Woody Allen is alleged by his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, of molesting her when she was only 7 years old. Allen denies this claim, though a judge agreed his actions towards her were “grossly inappropriate.” It’s worth noting that Allen’s wife was 10 years old when he met her aged 46, when he dated her mother for 10 years.

Roman Polanski has 1 Academy Award, and 5 nominations.
Roman Polanski was arrested and charged with drugging and raping a 13 year old girl in 1977. He was 43. As part of a plea bargain, he plead guilty to a lesser charge to avoid prison time. Upon finding out a judge was going to reject his plea and sentence him to 50 years, he fled to France. He is still a wanted man. 3 of his nominations and his win came after this event.

Kevin Spacey has 2 Academy Awards.
Kevin Spacey has been accused by at least 16 people of sexual abuse. This includes at least 8 people who worked on House of Cards, and actor Anthony Rapp who said that when he was 14 and Spacey was 26, Spacey made sexual advances toward him. It is also alleged that he “groped and behaved in an inappropriate way with young men” when he was Artistic Director at The Young Vic.

Doesn’t seem like they’re that bothered about “not condoning violence” when it’s white men sexually abusing, assaulting, and raping men, women, and children. But a black man defending his wife from a tacky “joke” at her expense, that made her uncomfortable, that preyed on her appearance as a black woman as well as her health, that’s where they draw the line? That’s a real good look.