The motion picture academy on Friday banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years following his slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.
The move comes after a meeting of the academy’s board of governors to discuss a response to Smith’s actions.
“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,” the academy said in a statement.
Will Smith pre-emptively resigned from the academy last week during the run-up to the meeting and said he would accept any punishment the academy handed down.
“I accept and respect the academy’s decision,” Smith said in a statement.
The academy also apologised for its handling of the situation and allowing Smith to stay and accept his best actor award for King Richard.
The ban means Will Smith will not be presenting one of the major awards at next year’s Oscars, as is tradition for the best actor winner.
The academy in its statement on Friday also expressed “deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances.”
The academy’s statement did not address whether Smith could be nominated for Oscars during his 10-year ban.
Nor did it take any action to revoke Smith’s Academy Award.
The academy has not revoked Oscars from expelled members Harvey Weinstein or Roman Polanski.
