Pedro Almodovar says Will Smith’s Oscar speech should not have been seen or heard

An Oscar winner and acclaimed filmmaker was metres away from the Will Smith fracas. And he had some choice words for the actor.

Acclaimed filmmaker Pedro Almodovar isn’t going to cast Will Smith in his beloved movies anytime soon.

The Spanish director wrote for Indiewire of his experiences of a wild Oscars weekend, from dad jokes with Al Pacino to hanging out with Zendaya at a Saint Laurent party.

And even though he said he didn’t want Will Smith’s onstage assault of Chris Rock to overshadow everything, he saved some choice words for the American actor and producer, and in particular Smith’s six-minute long acceptance speech, which he likened to that of a cult leader’s.

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Acclaimed filmmaker Pedro Almodovar likened Will Smith’s speech to that of a cult leader. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/VF22/WireImage for Vanity Fair)

Condemning Smith’s actions as a “violent episode”, Almodovar, who is best known for films including Volver and All About My Mother and for his collaboration with Penelope Cruz, said he was a mere four metres away from all the action, sitting close to the stage as it happened.

“What I saw and heard produced a feeling of absolute rejection in me,” he said. “Not only during the episode, but afterwards, too, in the acceptance speech – a speech that seemed more like that of a cult leader.

“You don’t defend or protect the family with your fists, and no, the devil doesn’t take advantage of key moments to do his work. The devil, in fact, doesn’t exist.

“This was a fundamentalist speech that we should neither hear nor see.”

The shameful moment was seen live by tens of millions of people around the world. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)

During his acceptance speech for Best Actor, which was awarded 30 minutes after Smith slapped Rock after the comedian directed a joke at Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith spoke at length about his desire to protect his family.

Smith said he was called on by god to be a defender of family, and made a reference to what fellow actor and nominee Denzel Washington had said to him offstage moments earlier, that “At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you”.

While he made a general apology to the Academy and to other nominees during his speech, Smith didn’t apologise to Rock or acknowledge his act as one of violence until the next day, after he had spent the night partying and celebrating his win.

Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz have collaborated on multiple films. Picture: Lluis Gene/AFP

Smith released a statement the day after the Oscars ceremony and after the Academy announced it would conduct a formal review into his actions, which could result in disciplinary action.

Smith eventually said: “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable.”

He added he was “out of line and I was wrong”.

The Academy also revealed it had asked Smith to leave the venue in the immediate aftermath of the slap but Smith refused. He went on to take his seat in the audience and accepted his Best Actor accolade to a standing ovation.

Rock hasn’t publicly addressed the events but referenced it at his first stand-up gig this week, where he told an audience in Boston that he was still processing what happened.

He said: “At some point I’ll talk about that s**t, and it will be serious and funny.”

Elsewhere in his piece, Almodovar, who previously won an Oscar for his film Talk to Her, revealed that Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were the only two high-profile celebrities he saw attend the hour-long award-giving of eight categories that were cut from the live Oscars broadcast.

Jessica Chastain was also present at the pre-ceremony which celebrated achievements in technical categories including Production Design, Sound and Original Score.