Will Smith Is Banned From The Oscars For 10 Years For Slapping Chris Rock

'The Board has decided, for 10 years from April 8, 2022, that Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards.’

'We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances. We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters, and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast.' 

'I accept and respect the Academy's decision,' Smith said in a statement released Friday afternoon after the decision was made.’

He had already resigned from the Academy last Friday, removing the choice to revoke his membership from their hands, as it had done with Harvey Weinstein. Jada Smith, Smith's wife, will be permitted to attend in-person events.

The 54-member Board of Governors convened on Friday morning following a tumultuous 12 days of debate among its 9,000 members in hundreds of WhatsApp groups.

The slap split Hollywood and the public, with some demanding that he be stripped of his Oscar and that violence not be rewarded, while others downplayed it and mocked it on social media.

After Rock made a joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett-shaved Smith's head, Smith slapped him on the stage. Pinkett-Smith has already spoken up about her battle with baldness.

Smith returned to his seat after the slap and screamed, "Keep my wife's name out of your f*****g mouth!"

He went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Work for his role as Richard Williams in the film King Richard. He apologized to the Academy and Rock during his address, and he afterward made an apology on Instagram.

Rock has been silent on the matter, merely stating that he was 'processing' what transpired.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is due to vote on whether Will Smith should be stripped of his Best Actor Oscar after slapping comedian Chris Rock on the show's stage on Friday, and it looks like there may be a division among those voting.

The organization's 54-member board of governors will make the final decision, but they are having trouble reaching an agreement and are 'nearly fully split,' according to a source.

Many people argued they were hesitant to take the dramatic step of rescinding Smith's Oscar because sexual abusers Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polanski did not have theirs revoked.

'The decision was made earlier this week to expedite the hearing in the wake of Will's resignation, and during that call, it was clear that the decision would go to the wire.' 

'The consensus is that it would be madness and rank hypocrisy to take such a stand now,' the source said.

'But, as we all know, Hollywood is a law unto itself, frankly.' 

The board has a few options for punishment. They might disqualify Smith from future awards or prevent him from attending ceremonies in the future, either temporarily or permanently.

They might even revoke Smith's Oscar for best actor, which he earned less than an hour after the on-stage assault - though the board hasn't revoked an award in more than 50 years.

According to Variety, which first published Rubin's letter, the meeting was originally scheduled for April 18 to give Smith enough notice, but that is no longer necessary.

'The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,' Smith said.

'I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.'

Actress Whoopi Goldberg, who is a serving Governor for the Academy's Actors section, justified Will's actions on The View the day after the March 27 event, arguing that sometimes you behave terribly.

Smith slapped Rock, 57, on live television in front of the entire globe after the comedian made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett-alopecia. Smith's

Whoopi said on Monday's show: 'I think it was a lot of stuff probably built up. ]'

'I think he overreacted… I think he had one of those moments where it was like [God damn] it, just stop. I get it, not everybody acts the way we would like them to act under pressure. And he snapped...’

'Sometimes you get to a point when you behave badly. I have behaved badly on occasion.' 

Sunny Hostin, Whoopi's co-host, said she was surprised [Will] wasn't dragged out,' and wondered whether Smith's Oscar may be taken away.

Whoopi replied: 'We're not going to take that Oscar from him.’

'There will be consequences I'm sure, but I don't think that's what they're going to do, particularly because Chris said, 'Listen, I'm not pressing any charges.'

'Lower your expectations, I'm not going to handle that s***,' Rock remarked at a surprise show at New York's Comedy Cellar on Tuesday night, according to a source.

He had been seen alone going around the city earlier that day. Tuesday morning, the 57-year-old comic walked with his hands in his bomber jacket.

Meanwhile, his younger brother Kenny, 42, told the Los Angeles Times that he had problems viewing the now-famous event involving his brother from last week's Academy Awards ceremony over and over again. He believes Smith's Best Actor award should be revoked.

He said: 'It eats at me watching it over and over again because you've seen a loved one being attacked and there's nothing you can do about it.’

'Every time I'm watching the videos, it's like a rendition that just keeps going over and over in my head.' 

He said: 'My brother was no threat to him and you just had no respect for him at that moment.’

'You just belittled him in front of millions of people that watch the show.'