Oscars fallout: Smith resigns from academy
Will Smith has resigned from the motion picture academy following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock and said he would accept any further punishment by the organisation.
Smith in a statement said he would “fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable”.
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.”
Smith loses voting privileges with his resignation. But there are other, less tangible benefits to being part of Hollywood’s most prestigious organisation: It bestows industry credibility on members. It’s invitation only, with a once-a-year membership review.
“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,” Smith’s statement said.
“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.
“I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”
The resignation came two days after the academy’s leadership board met to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith. This could have resulted in suspension or expulsion. It was not immediately clear what further punishment he could face.
Had he been expelled, Smith would have joined a small group of men removed from the academy:
Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, Bill Cosby and Carmine Caridi.
On Sunday, Smith strode from his front-row Dolby Theatre seat on to the stage and smacked Rock, who had made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Moments later, he went on to win the best actor award for King Richard.
Rock declined to file charges when asked by police. He has only briefly addressed the attack publicly, saying at one comedy concert in Boston this week that he was still “kind of processing what happened”.
Smith had supporters for coming to his wife’s defence, but was widely condemned for responding with violence and for marring his long-sought Oscar victory and overshadowing the night’s other winners.