Will Smith this week resigned from the Academy over his behaviour at the Oscars.
As everybody now knows, the renowned actor marred his own victory on Sunday when he attacked Chris Rock minutes before Will was announced the winner of the best actor award.
Will has since apologised, and claimed that comedian Chris making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s medical condition alopecia was ‘too much for him to bear’, leading him to stride on stage and slap Chris.
The furore from the shocking moment has now lasted for a week, with more opinions, details and rumours coming out daily.
Will had been facing expulsion or suspension from the Academy following the incident, with bosses investigating his behaviour.
However, he pre-empted this with an announcement on Friday that he would instead be resigning from the Oscars Academy.
Has anyone else resigned from the Academy?
Incredibly, Will’s resignation on Friday is the first time anyone has voluntarily resigned from the Academy.
However he wasn’t the first person to leave the organisation – rather, everyone else was simply expelled.
The Godfather Part II star Carmine Caridi was expelled in 2004 after he was found to have produced VCR copies of preview screeners of multiple films and shared them with people.
Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein was expelled in 2017 after the horror report which first documented the allegations of sexual assault against him, and Bill Cosby was expelled one year later after he was found guilty of sexual assault.
Disgraced director Roman Polanski was expelled at the same time as Cosby, and registered sex offender and cinematographer Adam Killer was expelled last yea.
What has Will Smith said about his resignation?
In a statement on Friday released via Variety, the King Richard actor announced his shock resignation from the Oscars Academy as he was under investigation for attacking Chris Rock.
In the statement, he said: ‘The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home.
‘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. I am heartbroken.’
He added: ‘I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film.’
Will concluded: ‘Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.’
The actor had also previously apologised for slapping Chris, saying that ‘violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive.’
He added: ‘My behaviour 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 apologise to you, Chris. 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.
‘I would also like to apologise to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologise to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family.
‘I deeply regret that my behaviour has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.’
He concluded: ‘I am a work in progress.’
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