Will Smith has been barred from the Oscars for 10 years, the Motion Picture Academy ruled Friday as a consequence of him slapping presenter Chris Rock during the Oscars ceremony last month.
The Academy’s Board of Governors also accepted the actor’s resignation as a member. However, the board did not rule Smith ineligible to receive nominations or Oscars over the next decade.
Shortly after the Academy’s ruling, Smith released a brief statement via his spokesperson and said, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ 54-person Board of Governors met via Zoom on April 8 to decide on additional discipline for Smith resigned his membership last week.
Only five people have been expelled in the history of the Academy. Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski were all expelled in connection with convictions for sexual abuse charges. Actor Carmine Caridi was expelled in 2004 for loaning VHS screeners to a friend who was caught by the FBI using the screeners to make pirated copies of films. And cinematographer Adam Kimmel had his membership revoked in 2021 for failing to disclose that he was a registered sex offender.
