After slapping Chris Rock at 94e Academy Awards, Will Smith was banned from the Academy for 10 years, becoming the sixth person ousted in the institute’s history.
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Since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was established 94 years ago, five people other than Will Smith have been sanctioned by the institute.
Carmine Caridi
The actor, who is recognized for his role in the film The Godfather, was the first member of the Academy to be expelled, in 2004. Until today, he was the only member whose expulsion had nothing to do with accusations of sexual assault. Now, Will Smith comes to join him.
In February 2004, confidential copies of films that had been sent to him began circulating on the internet. Later, he admitted to having shared these copies with his relatives, who were not members of the Academy of Oscars.
He was found guilty of copyright infringement and ordered to pay a US$300,000 fine to Sony Studios and Time Warner.
Harvey Weinstein
In October 2017, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expelled the former movie producer after dozens of women spoke out about the sexual assault and harassment they had suffered over several decades.
Weinstein, whose films have won 81 Oscars, was only the second person to be ousted from the Academy.
He is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted of rape and sexual assault by New York prosecutors.
Roman Polanski
Less than a year later, in May 2018, it was the Franco-Polish director’s turn to be expelled from the Academy. During the wave of #MeToo denunciations, Polanski had lost some feathers, in particular because of his conviction for rape in 1977.
At the time, the director had been charged in Los Angeles with six offenses against a young girl barely 13 years old. Polanski, who was 44 at the time, pleaded guilty to charges of sex with a minor, but he fled to France before he could be sentenced.
The American authorities have never stopped looking for the director, who has not set foot on American soil since 1978.
Polanski was even absent when he won the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director in 2003 for his film The pianist. The Academy then accepted the award on his behalf.
Polanski’s wife also rejected the invitation to join the Academy in 2018.
After being expelled from the institute, Polanski pursued the Academy, but lost the trial in August 2020.
Bill Cosby
The actor was expelled from the Academy along with Polanski, after being found guilty of sexual assault the previous month, in April 2018.
In the 1960s, Cosby allegedly sexually assaulted at least 60 women, according to allegations presented against him. He was, however, convicted of raping a Toronto woman, Andrea Constand, who claimed Cosby drugged and then assaulted her in 2004.
In June 2021, Cosby’s conviction was overturned, however, as the prosecutor handling the case was still tied to a non-prosecution agreement reached with Cosby in 2005.
Adam Kimmel
A cinematographer for many successful films, Kimmel was expelled from the Oscars by the Academy in March 2021 after an investigation by the magazine Variety revealed that he had previously been a registered sex offender.
In 2004, Kimmel pleaded guilty to having sex with a 14-year-old girl, when he was 43. He was arrested and convicted of sexual assault for a second time in 2010. , he was arrested for not registering as a sex offender in the state of Connecticut.
The exclusion of Will Smith has raised many criticisms on social networks. Many Internet users believe that the seriousness of the gesture is not comparable to convictions for sexual assault. Others noted that white figures who committed wrongdoings had never been excluded.