He had received the Oscar for best actor shortly after the incident for his role in “The Williams Method”. The Academy has opened a “disciplinary procedure”.
Will Smith refused to leave the Oscars ceremony after slapping comedian Chris Rock as requested. “While we wish to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and declined, we also recognize that we could have handled the situation differently”wrote the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, in a press release published on Wednesday March 30.
It was a joke by Chris Rock about the shaved head of Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, suffering from alopecia, a disease causing severe hair loss, which she revealed to suffer from a few years ago, which had triggered the scandal Sunday evening. Will Smith suddenly took the stage and slapped Chris Rock under the dumbfounded eyes of celebrities and viewers.
The actor, rewarded shortly after for his role in The Williams Method, has since issued a public apology to Chris Rock and the Academy of Oscars. The latter’s board of directors has Moreover opened a “disciplinary proceedings against Will Smith for violations of the rules, which includes inappropriate physical contact [et] abusive or dangerous conduct”.