The Academy has banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars for 10 years after he slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage during the last Oscars for making fun of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Also, Smith is not permitted to attend other events organized by the Academy over the next ten years, but the board did not decide on revoking the best actor award he won last month for his role in “King Richard.”
The board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the announcement after meeting in Los Angeles to deliberate on possible sanctions.
In a recent statement released, Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said: “The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, 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,”
“The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage.
“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.”
It should be recalled that Smith had already resigned his membership from the Academy, gave up his voting rights, and made it known before the disciplinary hearing that he would accept any disciplinary action taken against him.
