Actor Will Smith has resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the aftermath of the huge row involving him slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony on March 28. What does this mean for him?
Will Smith will no longer be able to vote for potential Academy nominees since he is no longer a member. He can still be invited for future Oscar ceremonies, Variety reported.
The actor will get to keep his Best Actor award, which he won for his role in King Richard. He can also be nominated for Oscars in the future.
The Academy has said that it will initiate a formal investigation into the incident, so it is to be seen what action will be taken against Smith.
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- Will Smith resigns from film academy over Chris Rock slap
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Smith had slapped Chris Rock, one of the presenters at Oscars 2022, for cracking a joke about his wife Jade Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, a condition that causes rapid hair loss.
Rock was slammed for his insensitive joke but many people also spoke out against Smith for being violent on stage.
Shortly after the slap, that shocked Oscar guests and television viewers across the world, Smith was named Best Actor. Addressing the incident in a tearful acceptance speech, he said “love makes you do crazy things” and apologised only to the Academy.
Smith offered an apology to Rock a day later.
"I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be," the actor said. " There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness. "
Smith admitted that his behaviour was inexcusable. "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," he added.
Oscars producer Will Packer revealed that after the incident, the police were ready to arrest Smith. But Rock refused to press charges against him.
Packer told ABC News that the Oscars could go on because Rock handled the incident with "grace and aplomb".
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