Will Smith Has Been Banned From the Oscars for 10 Years

The Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences has revealed the consequences that Will Smith will face after walking up on stage and hitting Chris Rock in the face during the 94th annunal Academy Awards ceremony.

They voted to ban Smith from all Academy events including the Oscars for the next 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.”

Those consequences are pretty much what most people expected. I think a lot of people knew that they wouldn’t strip Smith of his Oscar even though a lot of people and Hollywood insiders have been calling for it. He’s going to get to keep that. After all, convicted criminals Harvey Weinstein and director Roman Polanski still got to keep their Oscars following their expulsions from the Academy.

Smith’s resignation and barring from future events do not preclude him from being nominated or even winning future Academy Awards during that time.

Here is the Academy’s full 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.

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.”

In the end, the biggest consequences that Smith is facing are coming from some of the studios shutting down his future film projects and the fans that have turned their back on him. It’s also one of the main things that people will remember the actor for. It’s certainly hurt his reputation, but Smith is going to be fine. He’s an A-list star in Hollywood and he’ll bounce back. One thing is for sure, he’ll never do what he did again.

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