The Academy Has Banned Will Smith From The Oscars For 10 Years For Slapping Chris Rock
He says he accepts the decision.
Will Smith.
Will Smith has been banned from the Oscars ceremony for the next decade after slapping Chris Rock.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to give Smith a 10-year ban from the Oscars and all related events on Friday, after a board meeting to discuss his punishment for last month's incident.
"Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards," Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement.
"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."
They also apologized for not "adequately [addressing] the situation in the room" immediately after it happened.
"I accept and respect the Academy's decision," Smith said in a statement after the verdict was made, per Variety.
The actor announced on April 1 that he was resigning from the Academy, which means he will no longer be able to vote for future Oscar nominees. In his resignation statement, he said that he had "betrayed the trust of the Academy" with his actions.
The Academy pushed up his disciplinary review from April 18 to April 8 following his resignation.
Smith has also apologized to Rock for the incident.
The actor marched on stage during the Oscars and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her shaved head.
"Keep my wife's name out your f**king mouth!" Smith shouted at Rock after returning to his seat.
A short time after, Smith was awarded the Oscar for best actor for his role as Richard Williams, the father of tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard.
BBC reports that very few have ever resigned from the Academy. It said that in the past, four members have been expelled over sexual misconduct allegations: Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, director Roman Polanski and cinematographer Adam Kimmel. In 2004, actor Carmine Caridi was expelled for pirating screener copies of films that were given to him.
The Academy did not strip Smith of his newly-won Oscar.
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