Maxance Vincent
After Will Smith personally resigned from Academy voting privileges, The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences released an open letter addressing what went down two weeks ago, and announced that the King Richard actor will be barred from attending the next ten Oscar ceremonies. He can still be nominated for performances he starred in, but will not be able to attend the ceremonies, or receive the award in person should he win, for ten years. You can read the full statement from Academy president Dave Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson below:
“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.
Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. 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.
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.
This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted.
Thank you,
David Rubin
President
Dawn Hudson
CEO”
Will Smith also responded to the announcement, with a very brief statement:
“I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”
It’s unclear whether or not Smith’s future as an actor will play out. Many studios have already paused (or dropped) projects involving the actor. He will next appear in Apple TV+’s Emancipation, but, once again, it is not clear if the movie will release this year (or release at all), due to the aftermath that is currently happening from the slap.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline
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