After beating presenter Chris Rock, Will Smith was back on the Oscars stage when he won Best Actor.
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Will Smith is set to step down from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences after meeting presenter and comedian Chris Rock during last Sunday’s Academy Awards.
“My actions at the 94th Academy Awards were shocking, painful and inexcusable,” Smith said in a statement Friday, according to . “The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, everyone present and the global audience back home. I betrayed the Academy’s trust. I have robbed other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be acclaimed for their extraordinary work. I am devastated. I want to bring the focus back to those who deserve recognition for their accomplishments and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it is doing in support of creativity and art in film.”
Academy President David Rubin said the organization accepted Smith’s “immediate resignation.”
“We will continue our disciplinary process against Mr. Smith for violating the Academy’s standards of conduct before our next scheduled board meeting on April 18,” Rubin said in a statement.
A Smith representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the reporter, Smith’s retirement means he can’t vote for future Academy Awards, but he can still be nominated, attend the event, and keep the Best Actor statue he won Sunday night. Smith won for his role as Richard Williams, father of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams, in the film King Richard.
Smith took to the stage during the live broadcast and slammed Rock after the comedian joked about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s short hair, who suffers from alopecia, which causes hair loss.
On Monday, Smith apologized for the slap on Instagram. On Tuesday, Jada Pinkett Smith posted on Instagram, “This is a season of healing and I’m here for it.”
As for Rock, he didn’t address a viewer who yelled at Smith at a comedy show in Boston this week, but instead said “no, no, no, no, no,” according to People Magazine.
The Los Angeles Police Department said Rock chose not to file a police report against Smith.
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