The Academy has launched an investigation into Will Smith‘s conduct after the King Richard actor slapped comedian Chris Rock during Sunday night’s live Oscars broadcast.
“The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law,” the Academy wrote in a statement obtained by EW on Monday, hours after Smith hit Rock in the face over the comedian’s joke about the hair of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia, during the Oscars’ Best Documentary Feature presentation.
The statement also came with an outline of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences code of conduct, which notes that members are expected to uphold “the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity, inclusion, and a supportive environment that fosters creativity,” and provides an “ethical framework” for how its members should behave.
The Academy recommends that they should engage only in “appropriate professional conduct in their interactions with all individuals whom they encounter in connection with their professional roles, including colleagues, production staff, and others in the film community.” It also provides examples for things it will consider a violation of those ethics, including discrimination and inappropriate sexual contact in addition to any “physical contact that is uninvited and, in the situation, inappropriate and unwelcome.”
Disciplinary action, per the standards, include suspension of membership or expulsion from the Academy. AMPAS may also enforce “private reprimand, public reprimand, temporary or permanent loss of privileges to attend and participate in Academy events or activities, temporary or permanent loss of eligibility to receive or hold or revocation of Academy awards or honors, temporary or permanent loss of eligibility to hold Academy service and volunteer roles, or other sanctions that the Academy in its sole discretion may deem appropriate.”
As many users on social media have noted, the Academy has not publicly stripped Oscars from the likes of convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, nor from someone like Mel Gibson, who previously came under fire for discriminatory remarks about Jewish people in the past.
