Will Smith’s biggest fear after Oscars scandal

Will Smith is “trying not to panic” after his Oscars debacle – but the actor reportedly fears his life and career are spinning out of control.

Will Smith is said to be worried about his future in Hollywood.

After receiving nationwide backlash for slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars, a source claimed that the actor is concerned about what will happen to his career from here.

“He feels terrible and is trying not to panic, but seeing his roles put on ice has been a hugely bitter pill to swallow,” an insider alleged to Us Weekly on Wednesday.

“His biggest fear is that he’s in the process of being fully cancelled, and there’s nothing he can really do about it except sit back, suck up his punishment like a man and try to atone however he can.”

Smith reportedly fears he’s ‘in the process of being cancelled’. Picture: AFP

On April 1, the 53-year-old resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and said he would accept any further punishment the organisation imposed.

“My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful and inexcusable,” the actor noted in his statement.

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, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18,” he said.

The resignation came two days after the Academy’s leadership board met to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Those proceedings could have resulted in suspension or expulsion, and it was not immediately clear what additional 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 the actor Carmine Caridi, who was expelled for sharing awards screeners (DVDs of nominated movies) to a man who then pirated the films.

It’s unclear how the actor’s career will recover after this shocking Oscars outburst. Picture: AFP

On March 27, Smith left his front-row Dolby Theatre seat to step onto the stage where he slapped Rock, 57, who had made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Moments later, Smith went on to win the best actor award for his lead role in King Richard.

Rock, who was about to present the Oscar for best documentary, declined to file charges when asked by police. He has only briefly addressed the attack publicly, saying at one comedy concert in Boston last week that he was still “kind of processing what happened”.

Smith stunned Rock, the theatre crowd and viewers at home when he took the stage after Rock joked: “Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.”

Jada Pinkett Smith, who has spoken publicly about her auto-immune condition alopecia, which causes hair loss, had a closely shaved head similar to that of Demi Moore in the original G.I. Jane movie.

Smith won a Best Actor Oscar minutes after the slap – but he was already dealing with an intense fallout. Picture: AFP

After Smith’s attack, he returned to his seat and angrily twice shouted at Rock to “get my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth”.

When Smith took the stage again less than an hour later to accept his Oscar, he tearfully apologised to the Academy but notably omitted any mention of Rock.

The fallout was immediate and intense. Smith had supporters for coming to his wife’s defence, but he was widely condemned for responding with violence and for marring both his long-sought Oscar victory and overshadowing the night’s other winners.

This story originally appeared on Fox News and is republished here with permission