At Friday’s meeting…The Academy is studying Will Smith’s case

Beverly Hills – United States – (AFP)
The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is meeting Friday to decide what sanctions it could impose on American actor Will Smith after he slapped comedian Chris Rock during the Oscars, and is holding its meeting 10 days earlier than scheduled.
The Academy said Wednesday that the meeting had been brought forward because Smith had resigned of his own accord prior to his contract and therefore no longer needed time to prepare his defense for the disciplinary action that could have amounted to suspension or expulsion from the Academy.
Academy President David Rubin said in a letter to the members that “it is in the interest of all parties that the issue be resolved as soon as possible.”
The 53-year-old actor announced his resignation from the academy last Friday and apologized for his behavior, anticipating this decision that the academy will take.
“My actions at the 94th Academy Awards were shocking, painful and inexcusable,” Smith wrote, five days after he slapped Chris Rock for eating the shaved head of Will Smith’s wife, Jayda Pinkett Smith.
A few years ago, Jayda Pinkett Smith spoke publicly about her alopecia areata, which causes hair loss.
Dozens of minutes after the slap, Smith took to the stage again, where he received the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in “King Richard.”
A letter signed by Robin and General Manager Dawn Hudson and addressed to thousands of Academy members stressed that “the live broadcast of the 94th Academy Awards Sunday was supposed to be a celebration of the many people who have done an amazing job over the past year.”
“We are shocked and outraged that these moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior of a candidate on stage,” the letter added.
The Academy began looking into “disciplinary action” against Smith, but Chris Rock explicitly refused to file a complaint against Will Smith after the slap.
Rock spoke about the topic for the first time days after it happened, “I’m still trying to sort of understand what happened,” stressing that “at some point I’ll talk about this nonsense, and it’s going to be serious and funny.”
While many have called for Smith to be stripped of the award, others have pointed out that Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who was convicted of rape and sexual assault, director Roman Polanski and actor Bill Cosby, were not stripped of the awards after the Academy expelled them.