Joseph Patel, one of the co-producers of Oscar-winning documentary ‘Summer of Soul’ has kicked off at Will Smith and Chris Rock.
The impact of Sunday's slap seems to have gone well beyond Will Smith’s hand and Chris Rock’s face.
Patel and his colleagues took home the Best Documentary Award at this year's ceremony, and it was the first award to be announced following the now infamous on-stage confrontation.
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Patel had worked alongside Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson, David Dinerstein, and Robert Fyvolent to get the film made, but he feels that the moment was ruined first by Smith, then by Rock announcing that the award had been won by Questlove and ‘four white guys’.
He said that he felt the moment was ‘robbed’ from him, and that his accomplishment as a South Asian American was being undermined and erased.
He’s probably got a point.
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In a Twitter thread, Patel said: “Once we realized the Chris Rock/Will Smith interaction wasn’t a bit, everything got turned upside down. Everyone was still trying to make sense of it when Chris persevered and started to read the nominees,
“I think what Will did was selfish. It robbed the category of its moment. It robbed the other excellent and amazing films of their moment to be acknowledged in what was a STRONG year for docs. And it robbed ‘Summer of Soul’ and our team of our moment. Of a loud, enthusiastic cheer for a celebrated film.”
He continued: “[We] were in shock walking to the stage – not because of winning but because we, too, were still trying to make sense of what happened.
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“Then Will hugs [Questlove] and daps me up.
“I didn’t even know it was happening in the moment. Still in shock.
“What I didn’t hear in that moment walking to stage but was told of afterwards is what Chris Rock said when reading our name from the winner’s card — 'the winner is Summer of Soul…Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson and…four white guys'. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL F**K?????”
Patel continued: “The reason that makes me SO SO VERY ANGRY is because I was so proud to be one of a handful of South Asians to have ever won an Oscar in the history of the award.
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“I was ecstatic that I was the third South Asian to win that night — after [Riz Ahmed] and Aneil Karia won earlier in the night for ‘The Long Goodbye’.
“Three South Asians winning on the same night — that’s never happened before! And it’s meaningful! It’s history!”
He said that whilst he can ‘take a joke’, he didn’t want to ‘in that moment’.
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“What a sh**ty, disrespectful thing to do. AND HERE’S THE THING…. It wasn’t that Chris Rock was under stress,” he added.
“He made the same joke the night before on stage at the Roots Jam!
“[I’m] angry at Will Smith. Angry at Chris Rock. Angry for me. Angry for Ahmir. Angry for my fellow filmmakers.”
He concluded: “Thank you, Chris — you absolute f**king d**k.
“What both Will AND Chris did really stained what should have been a beautiful moment for us.”
Topics: US News, Oscars, Will Smith, Chris Rock, Film and TV
Tom Wood