Will Smith will have 15 days to give his explanations to the Hollywood Academy before a possible disciplinary sanction

The Hollywood Academy invited actor Will Smith on Wednesday to send a written statement about his conduct at Sunday's Oscars gala, where he slapped comedian Chris Rock for a comment about his wife.

According to a statement sent to Efe, the actor has 15 days to send that statement before on April 18 the Academy “takes any disciplinary action”, which could be “suspension, expulsion or any other sanction allowed in the statutes.”

The institution also clarified that it asked Smith to leave the ceremony after the incident, but he refused, although he admitted that “he could have managed the situation differently.”

That clarification comes after one of the gala's presenters, Wanda Sykes, criticized on Ellen DeGeneres' program the Academy's permissiveness towards the actor.

“You assault someone, they escort you out of the building and that's it. But to let it go on... I thought it was disgusting,” said Sykes, who then had to take the stage to continue conducting the ceremony.

The presenter also felt that the fact that they let Smith enjoy the rest of the gala and accept the Oscar sent “the wrong message” to viewers.

The Academy has also raised the tone in its latest statement, which calls Smith's action a “traumatic and deeply shocking event to witness in person and on television.”

He also apologized to Rock, thanking “his resilience on stage”.

“We also apologize to our nominees, guests and spectators for what happened during what should have been a celebratory event,” he added.

“Things developed in a way we couldn't have anticipated,” the organization justified.

WITHOUT MENTION OF THE RETIREMENT OF THE OSCAR

Although the first measure that was commented on was the withdrawal from the Oscar that Smith won that night for starring in “King Richard”, the statement makes no reference to that possibility and generalizes when it comes to applying “other sanctions”.

The open investigation against him is, according to the Academy, due to violations of its Standards of Conduct, including “inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and commitment to the integrity of the Academy.”

Smith himself apologized on Monday for the slap in the face on his Instagram profile. “My behavior at the Oscars last night was unacceptable and inexcusable,” he said.

Previously, his speech of appreciation at the Oscar, in which he defended himself as “protector” of his family and stated that “love leads to crazy things”, was heavily criticized by some spectators, who pointed out that such comments were proper to him and that Jada could defend herself against a joke of bad taste.

At the gala, Rock took the stage at the Dolby Theater to present the Oscar for Best Documentary and made a joke about the skinhead of Jada Pinkett-Smith, who has publicly acknowledged that she suffers from alopecia, when compared to Lieutenant O'Neil from Ridley Scott's film.

After Pinkett-Smith briefly closed her eyes in a gesture of annoyance, her husband (who previously smiled) got up from his seat and took the stage to slap Rock.

(With information from EFE)

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