Entertainment

Will Smith Slapped with a 10-Year Ban by Oscar’s Board

Actor Will Smith has received a 10 year ban from the academy board from all of its events including the Oscars.

The Oscar’s verdict is coming two weeks after that eventful Oscar’s night when Smith took to stage to slap Chris Rock after the comedian made a bad joke about his wife Jada Pickett Smith’s hair loss condition known as alopecia, while he was about to make a presentation.

Though that night ended well for Smith as he received his first ever Oscar for his titular role in King Richard, the sweet taste of snapping the highly coveted award soon turned sour as the actor soon began to face the repercussions of what many have adjudged to have been an assault on Rock. And Yes many also believe that Rock’s joke was a bad one but not enough to excuse Smith’s out-of-character response.

Netflix as well as a couple of other studio pulled the plug on projects involving Smith and now the Oscar’s board has decided on axing the Bad Boys actor for a full decade.

Will Smith had prior to this ban resigned from the Academy but this didn’t result in any leniency from the guys at the board.

The Academy board in their statement as obtained by Variety said that they hoped the verdict would serve to pacify Smith’s victim

“This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted,” the board said

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences board also apologized for not responding to the situation earlier on and hopes that Smith’s huge penalty makes up for their oversight.

“During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.”

The Board also lauded Rock for his professionalism with handling the situation which was so well done that some viewers thought the slap was part of the act for his presentation.

“We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances. We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast.”

To the board’s verdict Will Smith has responded saying; “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”

There have been calls to strip Smith of his Oscar statute but the Oscars has said it has no legal grounds to do this citing that convicted actors like Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polanski still posses their respective Oscar awards.

On a brighter note, neither does the ban nor Smith’s resignation prevent him from receiving Oscar nods or even winning another one of their golden statutes.

Celebs

Davido gifts personal assistant Lati Range Rover as birthday gift

Afrobeats superstar Davido has once again shown love to those in his inner circle by gifting his longtime personal assistant and close friend, Lati Biola, a brand-new Range Rover as a birthday present.

The heartwarming gesture comes as no surprise to fans familiar with the duo’s long-standing friendship, which dates back to Davido’s childhood. Lati, who served as Davido’s best man during the singer’s high-profile wedding to Chioma in June 2024, has remained a constant in the artist’s journey, both professionally and personally.

In the early hours of June 25, 2025, Davido took to Instagram to celebrate his best bud, tagging him as his ‘favourite person’ and posting pictures from the birthday dinner and clubbing. He also posted the keys to the luxury vehicle with the caption, “Love you my brother, enjoy new keys from your boy.”

It is worth noting that this is far from the first time Davido has gifted Lati a car. In 2019, Lati revealed that the singer was so generous that he gifted him a new red Benz worth ₦70 million.

Entertainment

Tems shows appreciation with ₦3 Million gift to fan who crocheted her portrait

Nigerian singer and Grammy Award winner Tems has gifted ₦3 million to a fan who spent over 70 hours crocheting a stunning tapestry portrait of her.

The fan, identified as Odum Ifeoluwa on X (formerly Twitter), shared her handmade creation online, hoping the singer would see it. The video posted showed the time-lapse creation process of the black and white piece, which came out looking just like the Essence singer.

She wrote on X, “I hope @temsbaby gets to see this coz I don’t have many followers on here, but after 8925 Stitches and 70 hours, I finished this crochet portrait of tems, I made this to mark the 1yr anniversary of when I started crocheting. It’s also my first time doing tapestry. I love you, Tems.”

The tapestry garnered reactions from X users who commended the young woman for her creativity, and in time, Tems herself stumbled across her hard work and was immediately amazed.

Yo this is unbelievable. You are incredible! I NEED IT RIGHT NOWWW. Can I buy it, please? “ Tems commented.

Shortly after the interaction, it was revealed that Tems sent ₦3 million in appreciation for the artwork.

Overwhelmed with emotion, the fan replied, “OMG😭 this has to be the best day of my life. @temsbaby. Thank you so much. @yvonneonyanta you’re are amazing. The rebel gang is the best community ever, thank you to everyone for your positive comments. Thank you so much🙏”

Social media users praised Tems for her kind gesture, and others commended the businesswoman’s talent and gratitude.

Reactions:

Tems is such a nice person, some celebrities would have ignored. Congratulations to the crochet girl, her hard work paid off.

That’s how you help a small scale business strive. Big ups to Tems!

The girl’s emotional intelligence should be studied, no price tag, just gratitude and she received way more than she expected.

Entertainment

Tinubu, you are incapable – Falz slams president over Benue killings

Nigerian rapper and activist, Falz, has condemned President Bola Tinubu over the recent mass killings in Benue State, accusing him of failing in his most fundamental responsibility as a leader.

In a strongly worded post shared on X on June 16, 2025, the rapper expressed deep frustration at what he described as a repeated pattern of government negligence amid growing insecurity across the country.

You have consistently shown that you are incapable of performing the primary duty of securing the lives and property of your citizens. This routine statement does not cut it.

Falz’s comments come in the wake of public outrage over the massacre of more than 200 people in parts of Benue State. The killings, which have been linked to suspected herdsmen attacks, have drawn widespread condemnation from Nigerians and prominent voices in entertainment.

After being called out online for what many people perceived as his silence on the matter, President Tinubu took to X to address the massacre, saying “Enough is enough.”

His statement read in part,

“I have been briefed on the senseless bloodletting in Benue State. Enough is enough! I have directed the security agencies to act decisively, arrest perpetrators of these evil acts on all sides of the conflict, and prosecute them.”

Political and community leaders in Benue State must act responsibly and avoid inflammatory utterances that could further increase tensions and killings.This is the time for Governor Alia to act as a statesman and immediately lead the process of dialogue and reconciliation that will bring peace to Benue.

Our people must live in peace, and it is possible when leaders across the divides work together in harmony and differences are identified and addressed with fairness, openness, and justice.

Despite finally addressing the bloodshed, many Nigerians have still faulted Tinubu for not speaking on it early enough, especially after the Pope.