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On April 9, DCEU star Harry Lennix called out Will Smith for returning his Oscar after his controversial action at the 94th Academy Awards. In one of his guest column for a magazine, Lennix referred to the decade-long ban on Smith by the Academy as "a toothless penalty that lays bare the shallowness of Hollywood morals."
In the article, Lennix wrote:
"Smith needs to express-mail his golden trophy back to the Academy and publicly state something to the effect of: 'Out of respect for the 94 years of honor conferred upon this award, I do not in good conscience feel worthy of being its custodian.'"
Following the publication of Lennix's guest column, the actor became the subject for many tweets that discredited his opinion on the matter.
What did Harry Lennix say about Will Smith's Oscar ban over an altercation with Chris Rock?
Lennix, who portrayed the Martian Manhunter in DCEU, condemned the Academy's reluctance to not escort Will Smith out of the Oscars event on March 27. The 57-year-old actor further wrote about Smith's acceptance speech, in which Lennix felt that Smith avoided accepting the accountability over his spontaneous assault of Chris Rock with a slap.
The Man of Steel star referred to Smith's speech where he mentioned God and Richard Williams to vaguely allude to him slapping Chris Rock just moments before. In his speech, Will Smith said:
"Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world."
In his speech, Smith further mentioned:
"I'm being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people."
It is apparent from Harry Lennix's article that the actor was genuinely dissatisfied with the events of Smith's violent outburst. As per the opinion piece, Lennix found that Smith's acceptance speech after winning the 'Best Actor' Oscars, lacked "personal accountability."
Lennix wrote:
"To argue that some deterministic force was at play is to deny the sad fact that the affair was purely human. To be sure, a grave moral failure occurred, but the psychology and philosophy that underpins this ongoing spectacle can very ably be explained as an act of free will."
Netizens react to Harry Lennix's demand for Will Smith to return his Oscar amid the slap controversy
While Lennix claimed that Smith's actions "stripped the entire evening of its prestige", numerous tweets brought the Academy's allegations of racism to showcase their criticism of the idea of Will Smith returning his Oscar. Similarly, multiple tweets claimed that Smith winning the Oscars was justified because of the acting prowess he showcased in King Richard.
A few tweets also hit back against Harry Lennix's opinion and called out the actor for not winning an Oscar himself. They cited the same to discredit Lennix's opinion about Smith's Academy award win as well.
