Will Smith’s Oscar trial is deadlocked: As Smith’s fate for “Slap” is expected to be decided today, the Academy’s board is reportedly divided over whether to seize the Hancock Award for Best Actor. “The members – of whom there are more than 9,000, with hundreds of WhatsApp groups flying – are completely separated,” an LA source told the Sun about the hearing from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Tinseltown court was originally scheduled to meet on April 18, but was moved to today after the 54-year-old resigned from the Academy. Smith, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in “King Richard,” slapped Oscar presenter Chris Rock after the 57-year-old comedian made a “bald” cry about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. suffering from alopecia. “The decision was made earlier this week to expedite the hearing after Will’s resignation,” the source explained. “And during this call, it was clear that the decision would be made.” Smith later apologized and resigned from the Academy. Photo by ROBYN BECK / AFP via Getty Images Will Smith slaps Chris Rock on stage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards. Neilson Barnard / Getty Images However, after multiple calls with “various members and specific governors over the last ten days”, the 54-member jury – which includes 24 women – remains at a 50-50 deadlock over the verdict, according to the guard. “The governors themselves are said to be at odds,” the source said, adding that the board considered it hypocritical to cancel Smith’s statue as “convicted sexual predator Harvey Weinstein and fugitive child rapist Roman Polanski have not yet arrived.” “But as we all know, Hollywood is a law in itself, honestly,” the source said. To date, the Academy has only revoked one Oscar: “Young Americans” was withdrawn from the 1969 Best Documentary Award after the board discovered that the film was released in 1967.
