Slapgate, Censorship, and Silicon Valley’s Enemy No. 1
Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to what’s new at Puck.
Today, Eriq Gardner delves into the legal quagmire surrounding the slap that stunned Hollywood. Could Will Smith face criminal or civil charges? Should the producers of the awards show be held responsible? And what’s the real reason that ABC aggressively censored the broadcast?
Plus, below the fold, Teddy Schleifer sits down with Silicon Valley’s favorite punching bag, Chesa Boudin, the progressive reformer D.A. facing a venture-backed recall campaign in San Francisco. And don’t miss the latest episode of The Town as Matthew Belloni reveals the inside conversation within the Dolby Theatre about the most astonishing Oscars twist ever.
ABC, the F.C.C., the L.A.P.D… How Hollywood and the law enforcement are making sense of slapgate, one day later. Will Smith slapping Chris Rock was the moment, but let’s talk about the 20 seconds immediately afterwards, because what happened during this stretch is independently significant and deserves to be discussed and remembered, too. I’m talking about one of the longest purposeful audio interruptions in television history. Or at least, American television history.
After Smith hit Rock, the comedian amazingly composed himself (fortunately there was no injury or this story might include the possibility of criminal charges—more on that later) and said, “Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me.” The camera flashed to Smith, who yelled out—twice—“Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.”
None of this had to be censored—and yes, censorship is the right word. ABC could also have just bleeped the three curse words. After all, the telecast was on a slight time delay, giving the network’s standards and practices team (which usually includes a lawyer) a brief moment to review. Instead, ABC cut the audio for 20 seconds straight. Looking back, it strikes me as odd that people weren’t sure whether the slap was some scripted comedic bit. The fact that ABC reacted to the mayhem this particular way should have been the tip-off that everything had gone off the rails…
FOUR STORIES WE’RE TALKING ABOUT 
Lucas Shaw joins a new episode of The Town to discuss the Academy Awards ratings and the fallout after the Smith–Rock slap. MATTHEW BELLONI 
During the peak of his powers, Will Smith allowed what should have been his brightest moment to reveal his own darkest shadow. BARATUNDE THURSTON 
An interview with Chesa Boudin on the media, billionaires, and the recall. Is he the victim of a smear campaign—or just bad at his job? THEODORE SCHLEIFER 
A bizarre and unexpected proxy statement leaves Wall Street to speculate: Do Warren Buffett and Goldman Sachs have beef? WILLIAM D. COHAN
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