Girls, gays and members of the theycademy, it is with a heavy heart that I must inform you the Will Smith and Chris Rock Oscars saga still goes on. Will Smith has officially resigned from the Academy as its internal investigation of The Slap™ rages on harder than the Oscars after-party.
President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AKA: The Academy) David Rubin confirmed that he had received Smith’s resignation as per Variety.
“We have received and accepted Mr. Will Smith’s immediate resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,” Rubin wrote.
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.”
In a statement obtained by the Hollywood Reporter, Will Smith continued his apology tour.
“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,” the winner of the Best Actor award said.
“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.
“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.”
Will Smith has resigned from the Academy: “The list of those I have hurt is long. I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.”
(https://t.co/LT3CWGG6uY) pic.twitter.com/CiyMtqGlZm
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) April 1, 2022
Earlier in the week Chris Rock addressed the situation in his first comedy show since the event.
According to People, Rock brought up the wild event at his sold-out show at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston. When he first walked out he reportedly received a standing ovation. Apart from being a comedy legend, the guy was just slapped so… makes sense.
“What’s up, Boston? How was your weekend?,” Rock said.
“I don’t have a bunch of shit about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I’m still kind of processing what happened. So at some point, I’ll talk about that shit. And it will be serious and funny.”
In other news, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has addressed Will’s slap further, making it clear that it did in fact tell him to leave but he refused.
“Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” it said via an official statement.
“While we would like to clarify that Mr Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognise we could have handled the situation differently.”
Per the ABC, the Academy will be looking into disciplinary action for the Oscar winner which could see him suspended from future shows or worse: expelled.
“Mr Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in person and on television,” it said in an earlier statement.
Will Smith apologised publicly for slapping Chris Rock across the face on Tuesday.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Smith condemned all violence as “poisonous” and “destructive”.
“My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable,” he wrote.
“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.”
Something tells me this isn’t the last time we’ll hear about this slap.
