DENVER (KDVR) — It’s all anyone’s talking about —Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards — but a local attorney has something to say when it comes to her cases here in Colorado.
Attorney Sarah Schielke shared a tweet Sunday night highlighting what she calls a double standard with the nationally broadcasted Oscar moment. She compared Will Smith getting away with slapping Chris Rock on television to a client of hers who spent days in jail for throwing a spouse’s phone at a wall during an argument.
“I would not recommend that anybody who is not Will Smith attempt what Will Smith did here in Colorado because it would not go well for them,” Schielke said.
Schielke said if you are not a celebrity and get caught on camera slapping someone in the Centennial state, there’s a good chance you’ll face third-degree assault charges, a class 1 misdemeanor punishable with 6 to 24 months in jail.
“If there’s video of somebody slapping somebody like that in Colorado, it’s going to be criminally prosecuted almost certainly, even if the victim doesn’t want it to be, because when there’s video evidence, you don’t even need their testimony,” Schielke said.
The slap is on the Los Angeles Police Department’s radar. They shared the following statement with the media about it:
“LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement condemning violence of any kind. A spokesperson told Variety they’ve officially started a formal review around the incident.