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Indy100 Staff
Apr 08, 2022
Will Smith breaks down in tears during Oscars acceptance speech
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The motion picture academy has banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years after he slapped Chris Rock at last month's ceremony.
It follows a meeting of the academy’s Board of Governors to discuss a response to Smith’s actions. The academy in a statement called Smith’s actions “unacceptable and harmful.”
Smith 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 apologized for its handling of the situation and allowing Smith to stay and accept his best actor award.
“During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry,” the academy said. “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. ”
Some Oscars viewers tried to predict how his return would look, with him well into his 60s by that point:
Will Smith pulling up to the Oscars in 2032:pic.twitter.com/YG0VfHarMo— Rosa \ud83c\udd7f\ufe0farks\u2019 Burner Account (@Rosa \ud83c\udd7f\ufe0farks\u2019 Burner Account) 1649446630
Will Smith after the 10 year Oscar banpic.twitter.com/yRd3s91AVq— Pi\u00f1ata Farms \ud83e\ude85 (@Pi\u00f1ata Farms \ud83e\ude85) 1649446163
Others pictured the Oscars committee discussing his arrival back, with a Sopranos-inspired comparison:
Year 2032. A chat about Will Smithpic.twitter.com/QfEzGroSOK— The Sopranos Club \ud83d\udc49\ud83c\udffb81k (@The Sopranos Club \ud83d\udc49\ud83c\udffb81k) 1649446901
To be honest, other than The Slap, the Oscars is a typically sedate affair - and there's every chance he'll end up like this while watching at home:
will smith after 5 minutes of watching the oscars at homepic.twitter.com/iujbg2NBC6— zae (@zae) 1649446298
Chris Rock said he had no interest in pursuing charges when asked by police backstage.
Smith returned to the stage less than hour later to accept his Oscar, apologizing to the academy but omitting any mention of Rock. He then compared himself to Richard Williams, the man he played in “King Richard,” “a fierce defender of his family.”
He later danced around and rapped along with his own songs in celebration of his win at the Vanity Fair post-Oscars party.
Rock has only briefly addressed the attack publicly, saying at one comedy concert in Boston this week that he was still “kind of processing what happened.”
With agencies.