Will Smith announced on Friday that he is resigning from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He added in the announcement that he is open to accepting any consequences that Academy board members may feel is appropriate.
"Change takes time," the actor wrote. "And I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason."
The actor lamented that the list of those he had "hurt" included Rock and his family, as well as his own family, adding, "I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work."
The shocking career move made by the actor may be an attempt to stay afloat in the career storm he has landed himself in after he assaulted comedian Chris Rock on live television. Rock was hosting the Oscars when he made a joke about Jade Pinkett Smith. "Jada, I love you. 'G.I. Jane 2', can't wait to see it," he joked in reference to her shaved head.
In 2018 Jada Pinkett Smith revealed she has alopecia, which is a hair loss condition.
The apparent offense the comedian made in reference to his wife caused Will Smith to storm the stage while an unsuspecting Rock and audience watched in confusion as well as laughter as Smith struck Rock with a hard slap. Some thought it was part of the show until the "King Richard" actor got back to his seat and started yelling, "Keep my wife's name out your f****** mouth!" The audience full of a-list stars fell silent when they realized the incident was not scripted.
Will Smith did not apologize to Rock in his acceptance speech when he won an Oscar for best actor for his performance as Serena and Venus Williams' father Richard Williams in the film "King Richard". He apologized to the Academy but not to Rock, this failure in addition to his decision to attend a party after the Awards show did not sit well with members of the Academy.
Chris Rock has not fully addressed the incident. During his stand up show in Boston on Wednesday night he said, "How was your weekend?" To a cheering crowd. He then joked, "I had a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I'm still kind of processing what happened. So, at some point I'll talk about that s***. And it will be serious and funny." Thus far he has not issued an official statement on the assault.
Thus far no actor has ever been stripped of their Academy Award. A source told Variety that the Academy is still conducting a disciplinary process as well as an investigation into the "slap".