Whoopi Goldberg has said that there will be "big consequences" for Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday night.
In a now-infamous moment that was broadcast live around the world, Smith stormed on stage and hit the comedian across the face after he made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, in reference to her shaved head.
When he returned to his seat, the actor continued to shout at Rock, yelling at him to "keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth."
The viral altercation has put Smith at the center of a media storm, as people on social media and in the press argue over who was in the wrong.
Although the actor has since apologized for his outburst, there has been speculation that the Academy might strip him of his Best Actor award - which he won moments after striking the comic.
Now, Academy Governor Goldberg has warned during an episode of The View that Smith will face "big consequences" for what happened.
According to Metro, Goldberg began by confirming that the Academy was not going to take away Smith's Oscar - but that there would still be serious repercussions.
"Let me say this, there are consequences. There are big consequences because nobody is okay with what happened. Nobody, nobody, nobody," she said on the ABC talk show.
"What’s happening is people are now starting to calm down and say, 'Wait a minute, what could have triggered this?'"
Goldberg went on to address queries about why Smith wasn't asked to leave the ceremony after he assaulted Rock. "Because that would have been another 15-20 minute explanation of why we’re taking the Black man out, five seconds before they’re about to decide whether he’s won an Oscar or not," she said.
The Ghost star went on to say: "I believe [producer] Will Packer made the right decision. He said, 'Let’s get to the rest of this so we can deal with it wholeheartedly.'"
After the show had ended on Sunday night, the Academy posted a tweet condemning the use of violence. "The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world," the post read.
Meanwhile, NBC News reports that the Academy has "officially started a formal review around the incident."
