Will Smith has resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in the wake of his onstage assault of Chris Rock during last Sunday’s Oscars show.
Smith, in a statement obtained by Variety, called his actions during the ceremony ‘shocking, painful and inexcusable,’ adding that he would accept any additional consequences the Academy’s Board of Governors deemed appropriate.
‘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.’
His resignation comes ahead of a scheduled disciplinary hearing with the Academy’s Board of Governors in which he faced suspension, expulsion or other sanctions.
The 53-year-old actor marched onto the Oscars stage on Sunday and hit Rock, after the comedian told a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Rock’s wisecrack was targeted at Pinkett Smith’s buzzcut, a style she has embraced in wake of her alopecia diagnosis.
‘Jada, I love you. “G.I. Jane 2,” can’t wait to see it,’ Rock said to Pinkett Smith, whose close-shaven head looked similar to Demi Moore’s in the 1997 movie, during his presentation of the award for best documentary.
Whether Rock was aware that Pinkett Smith suffered from a hair-loss condition is unknown, but Smith reacted with the smack and an angry warning ‘to keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!’
Shortly after, Smith was announced as the winner of the best actor award and went up to collect his statuette to a standing ovation from many of his peers.
In his acceptance speech, Smith apologized to the Academy – whose members vote for the awards, and who stages the ceremony – but stopped short of apologizing to Rock.
Smith initially laughed off the attack, writing on Instagram on Sunday evening: ‘You can’t invite people from Philly or Baltimore nowhere!!’
Yet as the gravity of the situation became clear, Smith then posted a public apology to Instagram 24 hours after the ceremony, saying he wanted to say sorry formally to Rock. He said his behavior was ‘unacceptable and inexcusable’ and left him ’embarrassed’.
‘I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris,’ he wrote. ‘I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.’
Pinkett Smith’s first public comment came in an Instagram post on Tuesday in which she said: ‘This is a season for healing and I’m here for it.’
Daily Mail UK
