The Academy admits response to Will Smith’s Oscar slap was ‘inadequate’ and ‘unacceptable’

The Academy has taken full responsibility for last year’s Oscar fiasco, promising they will be “fully transparent” going forward.

On Monday (13 February), the organisation in charge of voting and hosting the film awards held a luncheon for the 2023 Oscar nominees.

Addressing attendees, which included the likes of Tom Cruise, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) president Janet Yang said (via Variety): “I’m sure you all remember we experienced an unprecedented event at the Oscars.

“What happened onstage was fully unacceptable and the response from our organisation was inadequate.”

Yang continued:” We learned from this that the Academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions, and particularly in times of crisis you must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry.

“You should and can expect no less from us going forward.”

During the 2022 Oscar Awards live broadcast, Will Smith walked on stage and slapped presenter Chris Rock across the face.

That evening, Smith went on to win Best Actor for his lead performance in King Richard.

Nearly two weeks after the incident, the Academy gathered to discuss how they would handle the situation. It was eventually decided Smith would be banned from attending the Oscars and any and all related Academy events for the next 10 years.

However, days before the meeting, Smith had already sent in a letter of resignation to the Academy, stripping him of his membership to the Oscars awards body.

The Independent