Joseph Patel, the Bay Area-raised co-producer of the Oscar-winning documentary“Summer of Soul (… Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),”says bothWill Smith and Chris Rockruined his team’s crowning moment at the 94th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 27.
He said Smith’s stunt“robbed the category of its moment” and that Rock behaved like a “dick” while presenting the award.
Patel, who was raised in Fremont and is a graduate of UC Davis, said on a now-deleted Twitter thread that he was “still trying to make sense” of the moment Smith rushedonto the stage of the Dolby Theatreto slap Rock in the face for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith,while the comedian was presenting the best documentary feature category.
The incident left millions of viewers around the world stunned and quicklysoured the moodof the evening.
“It robbed the other excellent and amazing films of their moment to be acknowledged in what was a STRONG year for docs,” Patel said in the lengthy thread posted on Wednesday, March 30.
He described Smith’s act as“selfish,” adding, “It robbed ‘Summer of Soul’ and our team of our moment. Of a loud, enthusiastic cheer for a celebrated film.”
Patel declined to comment when reached by The Chronicle on Wednesday.
Patel, who co-produced the documentary with Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein, also called out Smith for putting the film’s director Ahmir“Questlove”Thompson in a tough spot by hugging him as he made his way to the stage, praising his associate for handling“the moment with grace, giving a speech from the heart.”
But the Indian American producer added that Rock was equally disrespectful in announcing their win, by saying the award went to Thompson and “four white guys.”
“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,” Patel said on Twitter.
He was among an elite group of South Asian winners on Sunday, includingRiz Ahmedand Aneil Karia, who won for best live-action short film for “The Long Goodbye.”
“That’s never happened before!” Patel said. “And it’s meaningful! It’s history!”
Best Documentary Feature goes to 'Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).' Congratulations#Oscarspic.twitter.com/4RRClS7VVZ
— The Academy (@TheAcademy)March 28, 2022
Patel then shared that when he returned to his home in Brooklyn after the ceremony, he could not watch the playback of the telecast, which drew more than 16.6 million viewers, over the slight.
“So I’m angry. Angry at Will Smith. Angry at Chris Rock. Angry for me. Angry for Ahmir. Angry for my fellow filmmakers,” Patel said.“I got back home to New York last night and saw the ceremony on my DVR and didn’t have the stomach to watch it. I probably never will. Thank you, Chris — You absolute f—ing dick.”
The film about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which is streaming on Disney+, is the first as a director for Thompson, the drummer for the Roots and the “Tonight Show” bandleader. When “Summer of Soul” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival it won both the Grand Jury and Audience prizes for a documentary.
Patel asserted that Rock’s dig at the filmmaking team was not the result of his reaction to Smith’s slap, saying the comedian “made the same joke the night before on stage at the Roots Jam.”
According to a report byVariety, at a concert at the El Rey Theatre on Saturday, March 26, Rock said on stage, “I’m presenting the documentary Oscar tomorrow, for best documentary and I just came from the rehearsal. So if you win … because you have like co-directors on it, I’m gonna say Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson and three white guys. Oh, you know I’m gonna say it, too, because I don’t give a f—.”
Since Oscar Sunday, Smith has taken to social media to issue an apology to the Academy, Rock and viewers around the world, admitting that he “was out of line.”
“I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be,” Smith posted onInstagram. “There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
The据美联社报道that the Academy’s board of governors met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Disciplinary action could include suspension, expulsion or other sanctions.
Smith has the opportunity to defend himself in a written response before the board meets again on April 18, according to the Academy.
For his part, Rock briefly acknowledged the incident during his first standup comedy show in Boston on Wednesday, though he did not issue any apology to Patel and his fellow “Summer of Soul” Oscar winners.
“I’m still kind of processing what happened,” Rocktold the crowd at the Wilbur theater, according to Variety. “At some point I’ll talk about that sh—. And it will be serious and funny.”
Before his turn as a filmmaker, Patel co-founded an叫SoleSides而独立的嘻哈音乐标签ttending Davis, launching the careers of DJ Shadow and Blackalicious. He was also a prolific music journalist who wrote under the name Jazzbo for publications like Urb and Straight No Chaser. He met Thompson while writing the Roots’ first cover story as a band in 1996 for Rap Pages.
Quoting a verse from A Tribe Called Quest, Patel wrapped up his Oscars thread by saying, “I never need a statue to tell me how nice I am — but it sure helps. And what both Will AND Chris did really stained what should have been a beautiful moment for us.”
By the next morning, Thursday, March 31, Patel deleted his thread,stating, “We reached the unproductive portion of the viral Twitter thread so I’ve deleted it. I said what I needed to say and feel at peace with it. Some of y’all are weirdos.”
Chronicle Senior Arts and Entertainment Editor Mariecar Mendoza contributed to this story.