Will Smith Resigns From Academy Following Oscars' Eye Poping Incident

Yesterday, April 1, Will Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which hosts the Oscars, not upto a week after the incident with Chris Rock onstage during the Oscars Academy Award, occurred.

Will, 53, said in the statement “My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.  The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home, I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken."

He said he is willing to accept "any and all" additional consequences for his actions, adding, "I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film."

Why Is Will Smith Resigning?

On March 27, at the Oscars Academy Award, Rock made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, about her shaved hair, Rock said "Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it, all right?" The joke didn't sit well with Jada so Will took matters into his own hands by walking up to Rock to deliver him a slap, shouting "Keep my wife's name out of your f--king mouth." Smith went on to win an Oscar for his role in King Richard about half an hour later and has since apologized for slapping Rock. 

An Academy statement earlier this week also said that Smith was "asked to leave the ceremony and refused." Regardless, Oscars producer Will Packer said that Rock supported for Smith to stay.

The LAPD said ‘We will do whatever you want us to do and one of the options is that we will go and arrest him right now,'" Packer told Good Morning America on April 1, saying the police came and talked to Rock in Packer's office.

"They were laying out very clearly what Chris' rights were," Packer said, "and they were saying, ‘This is battery. We will go get him. We are prepared. We're prepared to get him right now. You can press charges. We can arrest him.'"

Rock, who decided not to press charges, went on to give a standup show in Boston later in the week, telling the crowd that he was still "processing" the events of the weekend.

What Has The Academy Got To Say About Smith's Resgnation?

Film academy president David Rubin said Smith’s resignation was accepted. “We 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.”

The Academy has been exploring consequences for Smith's actions, which could include "suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions," such as being banned from Academy events. The organization said he violated the Academy's Standards of Conduct, which prohibits "inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior."

Smith's resignation means he can no longer vote in future Academy Awards

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