Will Smith at the Oscars 2022. (Image courtesy: AFP)
Will Smith, who has been banned from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years, in a recent interaction with Page Six, said this about Academy's decision: "I accept and respect the Academy's decision." Will Smith was banned on Friday from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years, two weeks after he won Best Actor shortly after the altercation. The Academy took disciplinary action against the King Richard star who slapped and swore at Oscar presenter Chris Rock for a joke he made at the expense of Will Smith's wife Jada Pinkett. "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," wrote president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson in a letter," news agency AFP reported.
Will Smith is also not permitted to attend any other events held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences over the next decade. The Board's decision did not revoke the best actor award Smith won last month for King Richard, nor did it mention any ban on future Oscar nominations, reported news agency AFP.
It all started when Chris Rock appeared on the stage to present the award for Best Documentary Feature, where he made a joke about Will Smith's wife and actor Jada Pinkett Smith being in "G.I. Jane" because of her shaved head, which triggered the The Pursuit Of Happyness actor, who hit Chris Rock and returned to his seat and yelled, "Keep my wife's name out of your f*****g mouth." Later, while receiving the Best Actor trophy, Will Smith apologised to the Academy and fellow nominees.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started a "formal review" of the situation a few days ago and also apologised to Chris Rock for the incident.
Will Smith apologised to Chris Rock in an Instagram post later, where he said that he is "embarrassed" about what he did and an excerpt from his post read, "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness."
(With inputs from AFP)