Academy Bans Will Smith for a Decade for Slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars

On Friday morning, the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences met to discuss the consequences for actor and slapper Will Smith. As PJ Media has reported, Smith slapped Oscars presenter Chris Rock across the face during the live television broadcast of the 94th Oscars held last month in Hollywood.

Ultimately, the Academy’s board voted to ban Smith from all Academy events, including the Oscars, for the next 10 years. Here is the Academy’s complete statement on Smith’s punishment via Variety:

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.

According to ABC7, before the board met, “Hollywood insiders had speculated that Smith’s punishment could include a ban on future nominations.”

For our VIP Members: Will Smith Is Angry and Weepy Because He’s a Pathetic Cuck

“They could create a ban for him being nominated which would ostensibly have a trickle-down effect on his career because any Oscar film or would-be Oscar film wouldn’t probably think twice…about casting him because it would cast a pall on the production,” IndieWire Editor-in-Chief Dana Harris-Bridson told ABC7.

Notice, however, that while the Academy’s statement did not revoke Smith’s best actor award for King Richard, it also, in fact, did not address whether Smith would be eligible to be nominated for Oscars during his 10-year ban. It will be interesting to see what happens to Smith and his career over the life of the ban.

For my money, this seems like a slap-on-the-wrist for a slap-in-the-face public assault, especially since Smith had already resigned from the Academy in the days following the incident. Rock absolutely should have pressed charges against Smith in order to deter anything like this from happening again to himself or his fellow performers, not just inside the protective Hollywood bubble but out here in the real world as well.