Will Smith news - live: ‘Heartbroken’ actor’s resignation from the Academy accepted by organisation
Best Actor winner resigns from Motion Picture Academy, saying list of those harmed by Oscars slap is “long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones”
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Your support makes all the difference.Nearly a week after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, Hollywood is still abuzz with activity, as celebrities weigh in on the incident, while a “formal review” of the incident began at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Now they’ve got something new to talk about: the King Richard star has resigned from the Academy, which puts on the Oscars.
“The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,” Smith said in a statement. “I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.”
It’s the latest sign of friction between the Hollywood heavyweight and the film group.
Smith was reportedly asked to leave the Oscars after breaking the Academy’s code of conduct, but he refused.
Though Mr Rock has declined to press charges against Mr Smith, on Wednesday, during the sold-out Boston show of his Ego Death tour, Rock finally addressed the altercation and said he was “still processing.”
“I’m still processing what happened, so at some point I’ll talk about that s***,” the comedian also said on stage, adding, “It’ll be serious. It’ll be funny, but right now I’m going to tell some jokes.”
You can follow all the developments about the “slap that was heard around the world” in our live blog below...
Everyone is very confused. Summer of Soul has won Best Documentary Feature but... everyone is still confused by the Will Smith/Chris Rock thing. What on earth?
The UK’s Sky stream has cut out, with reports saying that it’s also cut out in other countries. What is happening?
“Will and Chris, we’re going to solve this -- but right now we’re moving on with love,” says Diddy, who has appeared on stage after the stream returned
For a potential bit of background in Will Smith/Chris Rock tension, there’s this from 2016, in which Rock joked about Pinkett Smith’s “Oscars So White” protests...
Rock joked: “Jada [Pinkett Smith] boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.”
Asked for comment by TMZ soon after, Pinkett Smith said: “It comes with the territory, sweetheart. Hey look, it comes with the territory but we gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. There’s a lot of stuff we gotta handle, a lot of stuff in our world right now. We gotta keep it moving.”
There’s a Godfather reunion on stage right now, but everyone is... distracted.
Remember when La La Land won Best Picture for a minute? It’s that again... but somehow a thousand times more intense and strange.
Well this has completely overshadowed whatever is happening next, which is unfortunate. It’s the “In Memoriam” segment.
Sidney Poitier, Stephen Sondheim, Michael K Williams, Halyna Hutchins...
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