(WFLA) — Will Smith announced his resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock.
The “King Richard” actor said in a statement released Friday evening that he will “fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.”
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.”
The Academy had met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Smith faced possible suspensions or a possible expulsion.
The Academy said in a statement that “Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Smith’s resignation means he can no longer vote for the Oscars — but he can still be nominated for future Academy Awards, attend future ceremonies and keep the award he won.
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 kicked out for sharing awards screeners.
Smith shocked the theater 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.”
Pinkett Smith, who suffers from the hair loss condition alopecia, had a closely shaved head similar to that of Demi Moore in the original movie.
On Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
Rock publicly addressed the incident for the first time, but only briefly, at the beginning of a standup show Wednesday night in Boston, where he was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation. He said “I’m still kind of processing what happened.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
