BUCK: Let’s be clear: We do know here on the show there are more important things to be sure in this country and the world than one slap at the Oscars, but it is interesting when you get into the layers of this how people view it, and it has become a topic of discussion.

CLAY: It’s the topic for today.

BUCK: It is the topic of discussion for today. So we’re being honest to the subject matter or to the interests of the news cycle, and we’ll come into some other stuff in a moment here. But, Clay, this off the Daily Mail: “Academy members hold emergency Zoom talks over whether to strip Will Smith of his” best ass… “best-actor Oscar….”

CLAY: He does have a great ass, I gotta say.

BUCK: “…best actor Oscar,” I was trying to read the headline, “after he assaulted Chris Rock as hypocritical Hollywood stars clamor to congratulate him.” So it does seem that there’s now a little bit of a… You told me just now in the commercial — Clay and I never stop talking about this stuff — apparently The View agrees with us.

CLAY: This is maybe the… We need like a breaking news sounder to put on here. The View and, by the way, Howard Stern have also come down… This may be the first time that the Clay and Buck show, The View, and Howard Stern show have all three agreed with the response here as you can’t defend Will Smith in any way. I’m not in favor of ever stripping somebody of their award. He acted well. I feel this way about all sorts of, you know, retroactive punishment.

BUCK: He didn’t cheat to get the Oscar. It’s a different thing.

Which side are you on in the Oscars slap over a joke? Chris Rock or Will Smith? (Easy call for me, but curious what you guys think).

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) March 28, 2022

CLAY: That’s right, but I don’t think… There was the story that came out that said Chris Rock has declined to press charges. Why does Chris Rock need to press charges when it’s a clear assault that happened on international television that we all saw? To me, setting the precedent of you can’t walk up on a stage and attack a performer… Think about this, whether it’s a singer, whether it’s a comedian, whether it’s somebody at a Broadway play. The stage is sacrosanct. You shouldn’t be able to go onto the stage and attack anybody who’s performing there. That’s assault.