Will Smith faces suspension or expulsion over Chris Rock slap

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has started disciplinary action, says Smith was asked to leave the ceremony after slapping Rock but refused.

The organisation that puts on the Oscars on Wednesday said it initiated disciplinary proceedings against Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock during the Academy Awards on Sunday.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said that Mr Smith has been provided notice of a vote on his conduct and can be heard by the board via a written response. The academy could take disciplinary action as soon as its next board meeting on April 18. Discipline could include suspension, expulsion or other sanctions, the academy said.

In a statement, the academy also said that it asked Mr Smith to leave the Dolby Theatre after the incident.

“Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” the academy said. “While we would like to clarify that Mr Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognise we could have handled the situation differently.”

Mr Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Oscars stage after Mr Rock made a joke about Mr Smith’s wife’s hair. Jada Pinkett Smith has said on social media that she has alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss.

Shortly after the confrontation, Mr Smith accepted the award for best actor for his work in “King Richard.” Some people in the crowd gave the actor a standing ovation for his tearful speech.

Though Mr Smith apologised to the academy in his acceptance speech, he didn’t express regrets to Mr Rock. That came a day later, when Mr Smith released a statement on his Instagram directly addressing the comedian.

“I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris,” he wrote. “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.”

Mr Smith framed Mr Rock’s joke as an intentional jab at his wife’s illness. “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 wrote.

The academy, which oversees the Oscars, initially condemned Mr Smith’s actions in a statement on Monday and initiated a formal review of the incident, vowing to “explore further action and consequences” in accordance with its own rules and state law.

On Wednesday, the academy apologised to Mr Rock directly.

“Mr Rock, we apologise to you for what you experienced on our stage and thank you for your resilience in that moment,” the academy said.

Potential repercussions for the slap could include revoking Mr Smith’s academy membership, according to the organisation’s guidelines. The academy even has the authority to take back its Oscar, a highly unpopular move according to a poll taken the day after the Oscars. Seven in 10 Americans said they believed Mr Smith should be allowed to keep his award, according to a poll of 1,319 people taken on March 28 by the research company YouGov.

Mr Smith is awaiting the release of “Emancipation,” a film from his production company in which he plays a runaway slave. Before the controversy, Hollywood executives had been talking about the film, and Mr Smith’s performance in it, as possible Oscar contenders for this time next year. The movie purchased by Apple TV+, the streaming platform behind this year’s best picture winner “CODA,” has been slated to be released in late 2022, the height of Oscars season.

Dow Jones