Whoopi Goldberg Says Will Smith's Career 'Will Be Fine' After Oscars Slap

Whoopi Goldberg believes Will Smith can bounce back following his Oscars controversy.

The "King Richard" star made headlines for days after he smacked Chris Rock across the face on stage at the recent 94th Academy Awards over the comedian's joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head.

In the days following the incident, Smith faced criticism from fans and peers in the entertainment industry, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, "Fast and Loose," an action-thriller project he was previously attached to star in, was shelved by Netflix.

Goldberg weighed in on the news during Monday's episode of "The View," sharing that she believes Smith's career will recover.

"Some people found that controversial, but the show didn't have anything like last week's controversy, which is fine," Goldberg said. "Also some of Will Smith's future projects are in question. The question is, does he have a path back? Yes, of course, he does. ... He'll be fine, he'll be back. No worries."

Goldberg previously acknowledged that Rock, 57, "was the victim." However, she argued that the Oscars producers "made the right decision" in not removing Smith from the program.

According to the "View" co-host, "nobody is OK with what happened," but it would take more explanation if they had removed Smith from his seat right before the best actor winner was announced.

"The reason they didn't go and take him out is because that would've 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. I believe [producer] Will Packer made the right decision. He said let's get through the rest of this so we can deal with it wholeheartedly. So that's what went on," she was quoted as saying by People on the March 29 episode of "The View."

"This is not the first time craziness has happened onstage, but this is the first time we've seen anybody assault anybody onstage," added Goldberg.

Smith took home the top actor prize for his performance as Richard Williams, the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, in the biopic "King Richard."

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences claimed in a statement, released days after the altercation, that it asked Smith to leave after his assault on Rock, but the actor refused to do so.

"Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated. While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently," the Academy said in a statement via the Associated Press.

The Academy also apologized to Rock as well as the nominees, guests and viewers for the "deeply shocking, traumatic event" they witnessed.

Smith has since resigned from the Academy and said he would accept any additional consequences that the Academy's Board of Governors deems appropriate.

The Academy accepted his resignation, adding that it will "continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18."