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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Friday that Will Smith will be banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years for “harmful conduct” when he hit comedian Chris Rock at last month’s ceremony.
The ban came a week after the actor resignation He left the organization after his violent outburst on the Oscars stage on March 27.
In an open letter released after a morning meeting of the academy’s 54 governors, the group’s chairman, David Rubin, and CEO Dawn Hudson called Mr. .
“We are sorry about this,” the statement said. “This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we were caught off guard for an unprecedented situation.”
The Academy continued to praise Mr. Rock for “keeping his composure under extraordinary circumstances” and thanked the other attendees for their “calm and grace during our television show”.
Before Mr. Smith resigned, the organization considered expelling or suspending the actor who appeared on the Oscar stage in the middle of the ceremony and slapped Mr. Rock for joking about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The seat where he shouted curses beeping from the live television broadcast. Mr. Smith was allowed to stay at the Dolby Theatre, and shortly after it exploded, he won the Academy Award for best actor and received a standing ovation.
Conflicting accounts of what happened after the explosion plagued the academy, which was criticized for not removing Mr. Smith from the theater immediately. In its defense, the group said last week They asked Mr. Smith to leave, but he refused.
The show’s producer, Will Packer, later said in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” that although Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony, Mr. Packer urged the academy leadership not to “physically remove” him from the theater. in the middle of the live broadcast.
Mr. Packer said that after learning that plans to physically remove Mr. Smith from the venue were being discussed, he contacted the academy officials and told them he believed that Mr. Rock did not want to “make a bad situation worse”.
However, someone close to Mr. Rock, whose identity was kept anonymous for his speech as the academy’s investigation into the incident continued, said that he was never directly asked if he wanted Mr. Smith removed.
The Academy is hopeful that today’s actions will quell this event, which had received media coverage last week and eclipsed many of the accolades in its annual television broadcast.
“This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s conduct is a step towards the larger goal of protecting the safety of our artists and guests and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of recovery and restoration for all involved and affected.”
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