“The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many people in our community who did incredible work last year,” said David Rubin, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Dawn Hudson, CEO.
“However, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage.”
In a statement, Smith said: “I accept and respect the decision of the Academy.”
The actor resigned from the academy on April 1 and has issued statements apologizing to Rock, the Oscar producers, the nominees and the audience.
At the March 27 televised ceremony, Smith took to the stage after comedian Rock made a joke about the appearance of the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and then hit Rock in the face.
Less than an hour later, Smith gave a tearful speech on stage as he received the Best Actor Award for his role in “King Richard.” After the ceremony, she was seen dancing at Vanity Fair’s annual post-Oscar party.
Rock’s joke about Pinkett Smith referred to the 1997 film “GI Jane” in which actress Demi Moore shaved her head. It was not clear if Rock knew she had a condition that causes hair loss.
(Report by Lisa Richwine · Edited by Chris Reese and Jonathan Oatis)
