The Academy accepts full responsibility for its failure to respond quickly after Will Smith assaulted Chris Rock at last year’s Academy Awards ceremony.
“I’m sure you all remember we had an unprecedented event at the Oscars,” said Oscars president Janet Yang on Monday at a nominees’ luncheon in Los Angeles.
“What happened onstage was fully unacceptable and the response from our organization was inadequate,” she continued. “We learned from this that the Academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions, and particularly in times of crisis you must act swiftly, compassionately, and decisively for ourselves and for our industry. You should and can expect no less from us going forward.”
It all began when Rock joked about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, having a bald head. As a result, the “Men in Black” actor stormed onto the stage and slapped Rock across the face. “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!” Smith said after the slap.
The Academy was later chastised for allowing Smith to take the stage after winning “Best Actor” for his performance in “King Richard.”
“The Academy does not condone violence in any form,” the organization tweeted several hours after the event. Tonight, we are thrilled to honor our 94th Academy Award winners, who have earned this honor from their peers and moviegoers all over the world.”
The organization later launched an investigation into how the incident was handled. Smith was later barred from attending Academy events for ten years.
The “King Richard” actor has publicly apologized and resigned from the Academy on multiple occasions.
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” Smith captioned an Instagram post the day after the 2022 Academy Awards. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.”
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris,” he went on. “I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
Rock chose not to press charges against Smith, saying he is “not a victim.”
