LOS ANGELES, United States — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
said Friday that Will Smith would be barred from attending the Oscars for 10
years because of the “harmful behavior” he displayed when he struck comedian
Chris Rock during last month’s ceremony.
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The ban came a week
after the actor resigned from the organization following his violent outburst
on the Oscar stage March 27.
In an open letter
released after a morning meeting of the academy’s 54 governors, the group’s
president, David Rubin, and its CEO, Dawn Hudson, also called Smith’s behavior
“unacceptable” and admitted to not handling the situation properly during the
telecast.
“For this, we are
sorry,” said the statement. “This was an opportunity for us to set an example
for our guests, viewers, and our Academy family around the world, and we fell
short — unprepared for the unprecedented.”
Smith said in a
statement that “I accept and respect the academy’s decision.”
The academy
declined to elaborate on whether Smith remains eligible to be nominated for
Oscars, but two industry figures with knowledge of its rules and who were
granted anonymity to discuss academy proceedings said Smith is still eligible
to win Oscars but cannot attend the Academy Awards ceremony and other events.
The academy went on
to praise Rock for “maintaining his composure under extraordinary
circumstances” and thank others involved for “their poise and grace during our
telecast.”
Rock did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
Smith had seemed to
anticipate the possibility that he would not be welcome at future ceremonies in
the emotional, and polarizing, acceptance speech he gave after winning the
Oscar for best actor, which he ended by saying: “I hope the academy invites me
back. Thank you.”
Barring Smith from
next year’s ceremony means that he will not be allowed to present the Oscar for
best actress, upending a tradition in which the previous year’s best actor
winner bestows the prize for the best actress category and vice versa.
The punishment
could also spell trouble for the upcoming film “Emancipation,” a $100 million
drama for Apple. The movie, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Smith as a
runaway slave who joins the Union army, is in postproduction and has already
been touted as a possible awards contender.
Representatives for
Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Before Smith resigned, the organization had been
considering expelling or suspending the actor, who walked onto the Oscar stage
in the middle of the ceremony and slapped Rock for making a joke about his
wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, before returning to his seat, where he shouted
expletives that were bleeped out of the live television broadcast. Will Smith
was allowed to remain in the Dolby Theater, and soon after his outburst, he won
the Academy Award for best actor and received a standing ovation.
Conflicting
accounts of what happened after the outburst have plagued the academy, which
has been criticized for not immediately removing Smith from the theater. The
group, in its defense, said last week that it asked Smith to leave but he
refused.
The telecast’s
producer, Will Packer, later said in an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning
America” that although Smith had been asked to leave the ceremony, Packer had
urged the academy leadership not to “physically remove” him from the theater in
the middle of the live broadcast.
Packer said that
after he learned there were discussions of plans to physically remove Smith
from the venue, he approached academy officials and told them he believed Rock
did not want to “make a bad situation worse.”
But someone close
to Rock who was granted anonymity to speak while the academy’s inquiry into the
incident was underway said Rock was never asked directly if he wanted Smith
removed.
The punishment
handed down Friday means that Smith will not be allowed to attend any of the
events hosted by the academy, including the Governors Awards, which are devoted
to honorary Oscars and are not televised, and the annual academy luncheon,
which celebrates each year’s nominees. He will also be barred from screenings
the academy holds. He would presumably still be able to attend the private
parties thrown each year by studios or magazines, including Vanity Fair, if he
is invited.
The academy is
hopeful that Friday’s actions will put to rest this incident, which has played
out in the media over the past week and overshadowed the many accolades handed
out at the annual telecast.
“This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s
behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our
performers and guests, and restoring trust in the academy,” the academy said.
“We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved
and impacted.”
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