Report: Academy Set To Discipline Will Smith After Chris Rock Fracas; Conflicting Stories About 'Official' Incident Details

Will Smith: Discipline On The Way (Photo: DFree / Shutterstock.com)

The ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURES ARTS AND SCIENCES' Board Of Governors held an emergency meeting to discuss the consequences planned for Best Actor winner WILL SMITH after his notorious slap of CHRIS ROCK on last weekend's ACADEMY AWARDS. SMITH now faces “suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions permitted.”

The statement cites SMITH's violation of the standards of conduct, including “inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the ACADEMY.”

THE ACADEMY has given SMITH 15 days notice of a vote regarding his violations and sanctions, and he has the opportunity to provide a written response. The next board meeting is scheduled for APRIL 18th, at which time disciplinary action is expected to be handed out.

The ACADEMY revealed that it asked SMITH to leave the DOLBY THEATRE after the incident, but he refused. “We also recognize we could have handled the situation differently,” read the statement.

The organization also offered a formal apology to ROCK, the other nominees who attended the ceremony and the viewers at home and in person who witnessed the event. The letter states “Mr. ROCK, we apologize to you for what you experienced on our stage and thank you for your resilience in that moment. We also apologize to our nominees, guests and viewers for what transpired during what should have been a celebratory event.”

During an episode of “The View,” WHOOPI GOLDBERG, a member of the Board Of Governors, said, “We’re not going to take that OSCAR from him. There will be consequences, I’m sure, but I don’t think that’s what they’ll do.” Others accused of bad behavior over the years, such as HARVEY WEINSTEIN and ROMAN POLANSKI, were expelled from the ACADEMY without their OSCARS rescinded.

And now several sources are reporting that THE ACADEMY never officially asked WILL SMITH to leave the OSCAR ceremony after the incident on stage with CHRIS ROCK. Multiple sources told VARIETY that the KING RICHARD star was not formally told to leave by a member of the ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES, even as ACADEMY PRES. DAVID RUBIN and CEO DAWN HUDSON decided they wanted him gone. OSCARS director WILL PACKER, meanwhile, personally told that he and the production “officially” wanted him to stay, according to Variety. That report directly contradicts a statement from THE ACADEMY WEDNESDAY (3/30) that said SMITH refused to leave the theater when asked.

The description of events reportedly doesn’t sit well with a few individuals with knowledge of the situation minutes following SMITH slapping ROCK on stage for insuting his wife with a joke. They claim that some ACADEMY members expressed that they wanted SMITH removed, but they also say that no formal or explicit ask was ever made. Another person familiar with the ACADEMY said that SMITH was asked to leave through an on-site representative. That call was made by RUBIN and HUDSON, who, a source says, asked for SMITH to leave the show instead of remaining in the auditorium for the rest of the telecast.

VARIETY reported sources said show producer WILL PACKER was the key to SMITH remaining in his seat. In the roughly 30 minutes following SMITH’s attack on ROCK, before the award for best actor was presented, PACKER walked out into the orchestra and conferred with SMITH, according to two witnesses. PACKER said that he and the production “officially” wanted SMITH to stay for the remainder of the show, according to one of the witnesses. Another source close to PACKER denied that the producer urged SMITH to remain. Read the full story here. 

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