Under disciplinary proceedings after the slap in the face of comedian Chris Rock in the middle of the Oscars ceremony, Will Smith took the lead and announced Friday his resignation from the organization which awards the prestigious trophies. “My actions at the 94th Academy Awards were shocking, painful and inexcusable,” Will Smith wrote in a statement. “The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and my relatives, all those who were in the public or at home” in front of the retransmission last Sunday, continues the 53-year-old actor. “I resign as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and will accept any consequences the Board of Directors deems appropriate,” he said. “I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other candidates and winners of the chance to celebrate their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken”, he regrets in his text. a letter to members of the Academy, the leaders had said they were “outraged” by the incident, lamenting that the ceremony “was overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior of a contestant on stage”. The board has initiated disciplinary proceedings against Will Smith. It must meet on April 18 to rule on his case and decide on possible sanctions, leaving the actor at least fifteen days to “be heard by means of a written response”. Among the sanctions provided for by the organization’s internal regulations included suspension or expulsion from the Academy, which has nearly 10,000 members. Voices were raised to demand that Will Smith be stripped of his Oscar, but others pointed out that neither Harvey Weinstein, a former Hollywood mogul convicted of rape and sexual assault, nor director Roman Polanski, had been forced to return their statuette after being expelled from the Academy. Projects on stand-byWhile in Switzerland, the Franco-Polish director is currently shooting his next film with a budget of 13 million euros, on the other side of the Atlantic, the uncertainties around the future feature films of Will Smith following the episode of the slap multiply. Two of the actor’s films are currently on hiatus after Netflix and Sony, the studios that produce them, pulled out of the projects. Fast and Loose, a thriller produced by Netflix which had just lost its director, David Leitch, left Universal to make The Fall Guy is now on stand-by, along with Sony-produced Bad Boys 4, also on hiatus, according to The Hollywood Reporter. to pay tribute to the composure and professionalism of Chris Rock which, according to him, saved the evening of the Oscars. “It’s because Chris handled this moment with elegance and composure that we were able to continue the show,” Will Packer said Friday on ABC television. expected the trophy for Best Documentary. He then preferred to play appeasement, refusing to file a complaint against Will Smith that the police were ready to arrest for his gesture. “It kind of allowed us to continue the show, which we wanted to do,” said the producer. Chris Rock spoke about the incident for the first time on Wednesday evening, shortly after his arrival. on stage for a show in Boston. “I’m still processing what happened. So at some point I’m going to talk about this stuff. And it’s going to be serious and funny,” he said.
