Tony Awards have introduced a new ‘non-violence’ policy ahead of their 2022 show following the controversy surrounding the slap gate incident involving Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars last month. For those unaware, at Oscars 2022, Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock who had made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s baldness. The incident shocked everyone, especially the people attending the awards night. In an interesting turn of events, Will Smith was soon awarded Best Actor for his role in King Richard. During his acceptance speech, Will Smith apologised for his actions and subsequently resigned as a member of the Academy Awards.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the producers of the Tony Awards revealed a new procedure that clarifies how they will handle an individual “in the event of an incident” in a letter to ticket buyers on Wednesday. Well, the Tonys are the first known major award show to publicly institute a new ‘no-violence’ policy following the Oscars fiasco on March 27.
In the letter obtained by THR and sent by Tony Awards Productions to possible ticket buyers for the 75th annual show, producers wrote, the annual awards has a “strict no violence policy”. Also, the letter read, “In the event of an incident, the perpetrator will be removed immediately”.
Reportedly, the new policy and other details were introduced among other standard policies that include the dress code, seating, and vaccination required to attend the New York event.
Tony Awards, given for excellence in Broadway and theatre, are annual awards for distinguished achievement in American theatre. Named after actress-producer Antoinette Perry, the annual awards were established in 1947 by the American Theatre Wing and are intended to recognise excellence in plays and musicals staged on Broadway.
The Tony Awards 2022 will take place on Sunday, June 12.
