The Academy bans Will Smith for 10 years for Chris Rock slap

By Mandalit del Barco

Published April 8, 2022 at 2:19 PM CDT

Will Smith cannot attend any Academy events or programs after slapping Chris Rock.

In a statement, Academy president David Rubin said Will Smith's behavior was unacceptable and harmful.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to ban actor Will Smith from all its events virtually or in person, for 10 years.

This was Smith's punishment for infamously walking onstage at the Oscars to slap comedian Chris Rock after he joked about Smith's wife's hair. Smith went on to accept this year's award for Best Actor, for his role in the film King Richard. He apologized to Rock the following day, and by the end of the week, he resigned from the Academy.

This story will be updated.
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Mandalit del Barco

As an arts correspondent based at NPR West, Mandalit del Barco reports and produces stories about film, television, music, visual arts, dance and other topics. Over the years, she has also covered everything from street gangs to Hollywood, police and prisons, marijuana, immigration, race relations, natural disasters, Latino arts and urban street culture (including hip hop dance, music, and art). Every year, she covers the Oscars and the Grammy awards for NPR, as well as the Sundance Film Festival and other events. Her news reports, feature stories and photos, filed from Los Angeles and abroad, can be heard on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Alt.latino, and npr.org.

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