We are not about to see Will Smith again on the Los Angeles red carpet. The sentence has just fallen for the actor who was under disciplinary proceedings. This Friday evening, the Academy of Oscars decided to ban the American star from any ceremony or event that she will organize for a period of ten years, as punishment for the slap that the actor had struck the comedian. Chris Rock in the middle of a gala evening at the end of March.
“Mr. Smith will not be permitted to attend any Academy event or program, in person or virtually,” whether or not it is the Oscars, and with immediate effect, wrote in a statement the board of directors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which met Friday morning. The Academy has accepted Will Smith’s resignation, which he submitted on April 2 last week, but did not strip him of the Best Actor Oscar he received last month for “The Williams Method.”
“My actions at the 94th Academy Awards were shocking, painful and inexcusable”wrote the actor in a press release published on April 2. “The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, everyone who was in the audience or at home” in front of the broadcast last Sunday, continues the 53-year-old actor. “I resign as a Fellow of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and will accept any consequences the Board of Directors deems appropriate”he had assured.
It was a joke from Chris Rock about the close-cropped hair of Jada Pinkett Smith, wife of Will Smith suffering from alopecia, a disease causing significant hair loss, which had triggered the scandal on Sunday evening. Will Smith suddenly took the stage and slapped Chris Rock under the dumbfounded eyes of celebrities and viewers. A few tens of minutes after the slap, he returned to the Oscars stage to receive the best actor award for his role in “The Williams Method”. On Friday, April 1, Oscar night producer Will Packer paid tribute to Chris Rock’s composure and professionalism, which he says saved Oscar night. “It’s because Chris handled this moment with elegance and composure that we were able to continue the show”Will Packer said Friday on ABC television.