Whoopi Goldberg: Will Smith ‘snapped’ but won’t lose Oscar

“The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg predicted Monday that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will not strip actor Will Smith of his best actor award over his striking of comedian Chris Rock over a joke at Sunday’s Oscars. 

Goldberg, a 1990 Academy Award winner herself, said on “The View” that the altercation was the result of tensions that had been building for years.

“I think it was a lot of stuff probably built up,” she told her co-host Joy Behar. “Because 2016, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21 brought a lot of jokes, you know, some of it really low, some of them OK.”

“I think he overreacted,” Goldberg added. “I think he had one of those moments where it was like, ‘GD it. Just stop.’ I get it, not everybody acts the way we would like them to act under pressure. And he snapped.”

“We’re not going to take that Oscar from him,” Goldberg said. “There will be consequences, I’m sure, but I don’t think that’s what they’re going to do, particularly because Chris [Rock] said, ‘Listen, I’m not pressing any charges.'”

Smith went up on the stage and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife’s bald appearance, referencing actress Demi Moore’s appearance in the 1997 film “G.I. Jane.” 

Jada Pinkett Smith has been vocal about her struggles with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. 

“Keep my wife’s name out of your f—— mouth!” Will Smith yelled toward Rock after slapping him.

The Los Angeles Police Department told The Hill on Monday that Rock declined to file a police report over the incident.