The Academy Bans Will Smith For 10 Years Due To Oscars Slap Scandal

The fate of Will Smith has finally been decided.

Although the disciplinary hearing was supposed to take place on April 18, it was moved up to Friday, April 8 after the actor resigned from the Academy last week.

Since he resigned his membership, suspension and expulsion were off the table, but it was still possible that Will Smith could lose his first-ever Best Actor Oscar.

So what did the Academy decide?

On Friday afternoon, TMZ was the first to report that Will Smith has been banned from the Oscars for a decade due to the infamous slap seen around the world. However, they are not taking back his Oscar.

On Friday, the Academy President David Rubin released a statement that read, “The Board [of Governors] has decided, for a period of 10 years, from April 8, 2022, 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."

They also apologized for not handling the situation appropriately during the actual telecast. After the slap, many fans had taken to social media, calling for Smith to be escorted from the room. However, he was allowed to stay and receive his first-ever Best Actor Oscar for “King Richard.”

“During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this we are sorry,” the statement read. “This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers, and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short -- unprepared for the unprecedented.”

They also thanked Chris Rock for “maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances.” Rock continued to present the award to Questlove following the slap and met with the LAPD after the event, where he declined to press charges.

As The Blast reported earlier, the Academy was split over whether or not they should take back Will Smith's Oscar.

A source close to the Academy Board of Governors told The Sun that the members were “completely split” over whether or not Will Smith’s Oscar should be taken back after he slapped Chris Rock at the 94th annual Academy Awards.

The source told The Sun, “The members — of which there are over 9,000, with hundreds of WhatsApp groups flying about — are completely split.”

The insider revealed that there have been multiple calls “with various members, and specific governors over the past ten days.” The 54-member jury, which consists of 30 men and 24 women, is reportedly at a “50/50 impasse” over whether or not Will Smith should be allowed to keep his Oscar.

“The governors themselves are also said to be in disagreement,” the source said. They pointed out that Will Smith's actions couldn't compare to disgraced convicted sexual predator Harvey Weinstein or Roman Polanski. Although both controversial figures were expelled from the Academy Awards, they were still allowed to keep their golden statues.

“But, as we all know, Hollywood is a law unto itself, frankly,” the source quipped. The only Oscar that the Academy has taken back in its 94-year history is the “Young Americans,” which had its 1969 Oscar for Best Documentary retracted after the board discovered that the film had actually come out in 1967.

On March 27, Will Smith made Oscar history when he won his first-ever Best Actor Oscar. However, it’s what happened less than an hour before that event that has had people talking. At the 94th annual Academy Awards, Smith stormed the stage and slapped Chris Rock after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss condition, known as alopecia. After he slapped him, the “King Richard” actor took his seat and yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f---ing mouth” twice.

There has been a great deal of controversy over what happened that night, with producer Will Packer seemingly alleging that Chris Rock did not want Will Smith to be escorted out of the Oscars to sources for Chris Rock denying that claim. Rock’s two brothers – Troy and Kenny – have also been pretty vocal about the infamous slap and have insinuated that Smith has not reached out to the family to apologize.

The full statement, as per Deadline, can be read below.

The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage.

During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.

Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, 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.

This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted.

Thank you.