The Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences met Friday morning to discuss the consequences for actor Will Smith following his slap of presenter Chris Rock during the 94th Oscars telecast, and voted to ban Smith from all Academy events including the Oscars for 10 years.
Smith, who resigned from the Academy last week, replied soon after in a statement, saying “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”
Here is the Academy’s statement:
“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.
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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.
Read more: Variety
