The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) board of directors is meeting Friday to consider sanctions against Will Smith after the actor punched Chris Rock at the Oscars on March 27.
Smith has since apologized and resigned from the Academy, reportedly prompting Ampas President David Rubin to bring forward an April 18 board meeting. In his letter to board members, Rubin said that Ampas rules provided a 15-day period to consider suspending a membership, but after Smith’s resignation, that no longer applied.
After the incident, in which Smith appeared to be offended by a joke directed at his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, he received the Best Actor award for his performance in King Richard. Ampas later said Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and declined, although later reports suggested this was not a formal request and the show’s producer, Will Packer, wanted him to stay. It also emerged that Rubin and Ampas CEO Dawn Hudson held a secret meeting with Smith two days after the Oscars.
Smith isn’t expected to have his Oscar stripped — especially given that convicted criminals like Roman Polanski and Harvey Weinstein have kept theirs — so it’s not clear what sanctions remain other than expulsion.
A number of high-profile Smith-related projects appear to have been delayed as producers take stock, Netflix pauses work on action thriller Fast and Loose and Sony is reportedly halting development on Bad Boys 4.