The Academy Has Banned Will Smith From The Oscars For 10 Years For Slapping Chris Rock
He says he "accepts" the decision.
Will Smith has been banned from the Oscars ceremony for the next decade for slapping Chris Rock.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed Smith a 10-year ban from the Oscars and all related events on Friday, after a board meeting to discuss his punishment for last month's infamous incident.
"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," Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement.
"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."
They also apologized for not having "adequately addressed the situation in the room" immediately after it happened.
"I accept and respect the Academy's decision," Smith said in a statement after the punishment was handed down, per Variety.
The actor had resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on April 1, which means he will no longer be able to vote for future Oscar nominees. In his resignation statement, he said that he had "betrayed the trust of the Academy" with his actions.
The Academy pushed up his disciplinary review from April 18 to April 8 following his resignation.
Smith has also apologized to Rock for the incident, which happened on the biggest night of the year in Hollywood.
The actor marched up on stage and slapped Rock for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her baldness.
"Keep my wife's name out your f*cking mouth!" Smith later shouted at Rock from his seat.
A short time later later, the actor was awarded the Oscar for best actor for playing the father of tennis players Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard.
The BBC reports that in the past, four members have been expelled from the Academy for sexual misconduct allegations: Harvey Weinstein, actor Bill Cosby, director Roman Polanski and cinematographer Adam Kimmel. In 2004, actor Carmine Caridi was expelled in 2004 for pirating screener videos given to him.
The Academy did not strip Smith of his newly-won Oscar.