Many celebrities have been weighing in about the controversial slap heard ‘round the world at the Academy Awards on Sunday night. As always, Howard Stern was among them, taking to his radio show on Monday to share his thoughts on the situation with Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. Not one to hold back, Stern makes it clear that he feels appalled by Smith’s behavior, noting that he saw it to be a sign of “great mental illness.”

Stern goes on to note his frustration at the assault going unpunished at the Oscars at a time when “cancel culture” has been at its peak, with other celebrities seemingly facing harsher consequences for smaller infractions. As Stern says:

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The shock jock also theorizes that the real reason no one got involved was because Smith is a beloved celebrity, and is therefore able to be forgiven for this kind of behavior much more easily than your average person. Stern says it reminds him of Donald Trump, another celebrity who has a very large fan base regardless of his angry outbursts on television. He also questions if Smith would’ve reacted the same way if the person making the joke wasn’t so much smaller than him, as was the case with Rock.

Will Smith’s Actions Are Now Under Formal Review by the Academy

     ABC

Initially, The Academy’s only public response to the slapping was to post a statement stating they do not “condone violence.” Because Smith was still awarded a Best Actor award that night with seemingly no consequences, there has been a great deal of backlash with unhappy viewers calling for something to be done. Many are saying that Smith should be held criminally liable or perhaps lose his Oscar as a punishment for the attack, otherwise it may send the message that the Academy tolerates violence at its ceremony.

“The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show," reads a new statement clarifying their stance. “We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law.”

Others in the industry have been commenting on the situation. Comic Kathy Griffin tweeted, “Let me tell you something, it’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a comedian. Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”

“He could have killed him,” filmmaker Judd Apatow also said in a since-deleted tweet. “That’s pure out of control rage and violence. They’ve heard a million jokes about them in the last three decades. They are not freshman in the world of Hollywood and comedy. He lost his mind.”