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...
And the Best Animated Feature Oscar goes to... ENCANTO!
“I’m so proud to be a part of a film that puts beautiful, diverse characters front and centre,” says producer Yvett Merino.
Oh god. Here’s the “Top 5 Most Cheer-Worthy Moment” rundown, based on... Twitter? This was one of the Academy’s weird innovations this year, where “Film Twitter” determined particularly memorable/meaningful moments in film history.
They are: “bullet-time” from The Matrix, Jennifer Hudson wailing in Dreamgirls, the Avengers assembling in Avengers: Endgame, various Spider-Men in Spider-Man: No Way Home and, for some reason, The Flash doing something uninteresting in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Love this for the Oscars. Great job, everyone.
We’re also still awaiting the result of the “fan-favourite award”, a poll in which Twitter decided the best film of the last year. It was subsequently taken over by fans of Johnny Depp and the pop star Camila Cabello, leading their respective most recent movies – Minimata and Cinderella, respectively – to duke it out for the prize.
God help us.
And we’re back from a break, with another of those rapid-fire montages of an award given out pre-show – this time Best Animated Short, for The Windshield Wiper.
Next up, Best Supporting Actor! Like Debose’s win, this feels as if it’s been set in stone for a while, but we’ll see!
And Best Supporting Actor goes to... Troy Kotsur for ‘Coda’!
Lovely moment just then in which Minari Oscar winner Yuh-jung Youn announces Kotsur’s win in sign language.
“This is amazing to be here on this journey,” Kotsur signs. “I can’t believe I’m here.”
“I want to thank all the wonderful deaf theatre stages that allowed me to develop my craft as an actor.”
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