Will Smith has been banned from the Oscars for 10 years after slapping Chris Rock at the awards show last month. The Academy made the announcement Friday in a letter sent by President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson.
“The 94th Oscars was meant to be a celebration of the many people in our community who did incredible work last year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage,” the letter says.
“Today, the Board of Governors called a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation,” the letter continues. “The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years beginning April 8, 2022, that Mr. Smith will not be permitted to attend any Academy event or program, in person or virtually, including, but not limited to, the Academy Awards.”
Rubin and Hudson also thanked Rock, who said he is still processing what happened, for “maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances.” They said the Academy “failed to adequately address the situation in the room.”
“For this, we are sorry. 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 something unprecedented.”
Rubin and Hudson said the Academy’s decision to ban Smith “is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our artists and guests, and restoring confidence in the Academy.”
Last week, Smith resigned from the Academy, apologizing to the Academy and Rock and saying he was “heartbroken.” At the time, Rubin said the organization had “received and accepted” Smith’s resignation and will “proceed with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy’s Rules of Conduct.”
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