Academy got Will Smith's slap punishment exactly right

TheWrap

The Academy's decision to ban Smith from the Oscars for 10 years for slapping Chris Rock has been called everything from too harsh to too lenient. Veteran actor Harry Lennix described the ban as “a toothless penalty that lays bare the shallowness of Hollywood morals” and calling on Smith to return his Oscar. Others say the punishment is too severe when other Oscar winners -- Kevin Spacey, Adrien Brody, Mel Gibson and others -- haven't been punished at all for their bad behavior. But as Benjamin Svetkey notes, the punishment "seems totally fair and proportional, especially considering that Smith had already apologized and resigned from the Academy in a savvy gesture of contrition. Anything less would have been a slap on the wrist. Anything more would have been overkill."