Actor Will Smith has rejected a request to leave the Academy Awards on his own on Sunday after he slapped comedian Chris Rock, the Academy said in a statement on Wednesday.
“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,” the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences wrote. , who presents the Oscars.
Its Board of Trustees on Wednesday “initiated disciplinary proceedings against Will Smith for violations of Academy policies, which include inappropriate physical contact, abusive or dangerous conduct and compromise of the Academy. ‘integrity of the Academy,’ according to the statement.
A possible “disciplinary action” against him will be discussed at a meeting scheduled for April 18, she adds. It could include the suspension or expulsion of Will Smith from the Academy, which has thousands of members.
The queen institution of American cinema gives the actor 15 days before the Academy decides, thus offering him “the opportunity to be heard by means of a written response”, continues the text.
It was a joke by Chris Rock about the shaved head of 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.
Will Smith suddenly got on stage and slapped Chris Rock under the dumbfounded gaze of celebrities and viewers.
Will Smith, rewarded shortly after the incident by the Oscar for best actor for his role in The Williams Methodhas since issued a public apology to Chris Rock and the Academy.
Earlier Wednesday, the two leaders of the Academy had assured that it would take “appropriate measures” vis-à-vis this episode which “scandalized” them.