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Will Smith could be JAILED or sued over Oscars slap – here are four possible outcomes, according to legal experts
WILL Smith could face jail time or probation, civil lawsuits or even have to give back his Oscar in what would be a precedent-setting move.
Those are three of the four potential ramifications of Smith appearing to smack Chris Rock on stage after the comedian joked about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair loss, according to law experts.
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The fourth possibility is no one does anything and there's no fallout.
That's what law professor Leslie Y. Garfield Tenzer told The Sun she believes is the most likely outcome because Rock has - so far - said he won't press charges.
Tenzer, who teaches at New York's , said a criminal case and civil lawsuit hinges on the comedian's participation.
"What Will Smith did meets every requirement of criminal assault under California's penal code," Tenzer said.
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"The fact is that he hit all elements under under the penal code. He applied force, he did it willfully and he chose to do it, and defending his wife from a joke is not justification under the law.
"Clearly, he committed a crime, but prosecutors won't go ahead with charges without a claimant, in this case Chris Rock, because there would be no one to testify.
"That's a problem many times in rape and abuse cases. if the claimant doesn't want to testify or press charges, prosecutors have no case."
Beverly Hills attorney Adam Michael Sacks said the police and prosecutors can still move forward with criminal charges without Rock, but agreed with Tenzer and said it's unlikely
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"I would imagine (Chris Rock) will let it slide," Sacks said. "If he wanted, he could. It’s assault and battery. It’s going to be hard to argue against it because it’s on video and a lot of witnesses.
"That’s a serious crime. That’s a good year in jail. His past arrest was a long time ago. More than 10 years, so it wouldn’t be a big consideration. He would likely get probation."
ACADEMY AWARDS OR CHRIS ROCK CAN SUE
Rock or the Academy Awards can each potentially sue Smith in civil court, where the burden of proof is much lower than criminal court, both law experts said.
The Sun asked his publicist for comment if he will be pursuing criminal or civil cases.
Like in the criminal case, Rock has said he wouldn't sue in public statements, which would mean there's no case.
Then there's the actual Academy Awards, which can sue Smith and claim he damaged its product.
“The academy doesn’t have a criminal case against Will Smith," Sacks said. "But the academy can sue him in civil court.
"He did damage to their production. He hurt the value of their show. He caused violence. But you would have to prove damages.
"It would have to be a financial loss. He diminished their product by his behavior. Other celebrities may be nervous to go next year because of lack of security. But they would likely ban him over suing in civil court."
Tenzer said she thinks the Academy Awards's civil case would be "weak."
But regardless of what Rock says the night of and the day after, he can always change his mind, Tenzer said.
Rock would have a year to file charges with the police, Sacks said, "But as time goes by, witnesses disappear, people forget. You want it to be fresher."
In civil court, Rock has three years to file, according to Sacks.
"Chris can even sue the academy. He can say they didn’t provide proper security for him," the Beverly Hills lawyer said. "It would be a civil suit. He can sue Will Smith, the Academy, the insurance company, security company and theater.
"As a performer on stage, he should’ve been protected."
FOURTH AND "MOST LIKELY" CONSEQUENCE
With all the options laid out and the seeming unwillingness of Rock to be part of criminal or civil cases, the fourth and "most likely" outcome will be nothing happens, Tenzer said.
"I don't think we are going to have a civil or criminal case. But what bothered me personally was that moments later, he won an award and got a standing ovation.
"This means that it seems like nothing will happen, and it'll be brushed under the rug."
"THE SLAP HEARD AROUND THE WORLD"
The physical encounter has been dubbed, "The slap heard around the world," because the Oscars are watched throughout the world.
Smith angered after Rock joked, "Jada, I love you, G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it" - a reference to the 1997 movie GI Jane.
Demi Moore famously shaved her head, but Smith's wife has been open about her struggles with alopecia and decided to remove her hair permanently.
Alopecia is an autoimmune condition characterized by rapid hair loss in the scalp, eyebrows and eye lashes.
She rolled her eyes and appeared to be upset after the joke, which prompted the "King Richard" actor to walk on stage and seemingly smack Rock in the face.
Rock “reeled” to one side after he was slapped.
WAS IT STAGED?
There's still some debate about whether the physical attack was staged.
It appeared to be real because Smith continued to yell at Rock after he sat down when he yelled, "Keep my wife's name out your f******g mouth."
But body language expert Judi James told The Sun that Rock didn’t “nurse his face," which was one of the signs James said points towards it being a staged stunt.
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“Will is a big guy and I would have expected Chris to hit the floor, even if it was just from shock.
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“Chris’s apparent lack of ‘hurt’ response was probably what caused many people to believe they were watching a stunt.”
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