Smith refused to leave the Oscars right after attacking comic Chris Rock, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences disclosed Wednesday as the start of disciplinary action against the megastar.
Will is facing expulsion from the Academy for the open-hand slap, which happened moments before the start of “King Richard” best actor award.
“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,” a statement said.
The Academy, the body that hands out the Oscars, said it would hold a vote on what action should be taken against Smith over the encyclopedically televised assault, which marred Hollywood’s most important evening.
“The Board of Governors today initiated disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Will Smith for violations of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, including inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the Academy,” the statement said.
“Mr. Smith is being provided at least 15 days’ notice of a vote regarding his violations and sanctions, and the opportunity to be heard beforehand by means of a written response.
“At the next board meeting on April 18, the Academy may take any disciplinary action, which may include suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions permitted by the Bylaws and Standards of Conduct.”
The group is under violent pressure to respond properly to the dis, which has dominated the content of the swank awards and taken the limelight from several notable firsts– including the substantially deaf cast of”CODA,” who won the best picture.
Banishment from the exclusive club is rare, but not unheard of Harvey Weinstein was demurred out in 2017 after reports surfaced of decades of sexual assault.
Director Roman Polanski was expelled in 2019 after years of controversy about his 1978 conviction for the rape of a 13-year-old girl.
Neither man had their Oscar wins rescinded.
Attendees of the form Sunday observed anticipatory as Smith stormed onstage and hit Rock, who had cracked a joke about his actress lady’s nearly cropped cut.
Jada Pinkett Smith has alopecia, a condition that causes her to lose hair.
The followership was originally doubtful if the mighty dis was part of the performance until Smith yelled obscenities from his seat.
Rock managed to keep the festivity on track, but the atmosphere at the event had shifted unmistakably.
less than half an hour later, when accepting the movie world’s utmost honor for an actor, Smith tearfully claimed “ Love will make you do crazy things.”
The “Men in Black” and “Aladdin” star later apologized to Rock in an Instagram post, and Pinkett Smith posted on the platform that it’s the “season of healing.” Rock finally spoke publicly about the episode during a performance sold out in Boston late Wednesday. The show’s tickets were advertised in the secondary market for hundreds of dollars above par. Tickets Website TickPick announced on Monday that it has sold more tickets for rock tours in the last 24 hours than in the entire previous month. When Rock went on stage Wednesday night, he started by asking the audience, “How was your weekend?” The opener caused a wave of laughter. But he said there was no material in the slap.
“If you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend,” Variety reported him saying. “I’m still kind of processing what happened.
“At some point, I’ll talk about that,” he added. “And it will be serious and funny.”
In its Wednesday statement, the Academy offered its apologies to Rock over the “deeply shocking, traumatic event.”
“Mr. Rock, we apologize to you for what you experienced on our stage and thank you for your resilience at that moment,” the Academy said.
“We also apologize to our nominees, guests, and viewers for what transpired during what should have been a celebratory event.”
Oscars’ co-host Wanda Sykes, one of three women whose turn at the helm of the show has been widely praised, revealed Wednesday she felt physically sick after the attack and thought Smith should have been ejected.
“It was sickening. It was absolutely — I physically felt ill, and I’m still a little traumatized by it,” she told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.
“And for them to let (Smith) stay in that room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award, I was like, ‘How gross is this?’ This sends the wrong message.
“If you assault somebody, you get escorted out the building and that’s it. But for them to let him continue, I thought it was gross,” she said.
She also told DeGeneres that she had spoken to Rock after the show.
“The first thing he said is, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I was like, ‘Why are you apologizing?’ He was like, ‘It was supposed to be your night.
“‘You and Amy (Schumer) and Regina (Hall) were doing such a great job. I’m so sorry this is now gonna be about this,'” Sykes said Rock told her.