The academy’s board met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for breaches of team etiquette. The academy said disciplinary action against Smith could include suspension, expulsion or other sanctions.
Many have focused on why Smith was allowed to sit in the front row at the Dolby Theater after the incident. On Wednesday, the academy suggested that it attempted to remove the actor from the audience.
“Things turned out in a way we could not have predicted,” the academy said. “While we would like to make it clear that Mr Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also acknowledge that we could have handled the situation differently.”
A spokesman for the academy declined to comment on how he tried to oust Smith. After Smith hit Rock in response to a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, many stars, including Denzel Washington, Bradley Cooper and Tyler Perry, spoke with Smith, 53.
The academy said Smith has the opportunity to defend himself in a written response before the board meets again on April 18. The film academy earlier condemned Smith’s attack on the Rock scene, but used stronger language on Wednesday.
“Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to be seen in person and on television,” the academy said. “Mr. Rock, we apologize for what you experienced on our stage and thank you for your resilience at that time. We also apologize to our candidates, guests and spectators for what happened during a celebration.”
On Monday, Smith apologized to Rock, the academy and viewers, saying “I was off the line and I was wrong.”
A spokesman for Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Only a handful of academy members have ever been expelled, including Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, Bill Cosby and actress Carmine Caridi, who was fired for sharing the awards.
“We’re not going to take this Oscar from him,” Whoopi Goldberg, a member of the academy’s board, told The View on Monday. (Even the Oscars won by the expelled members were not previously ordered to be returned.) Goldberg added that “no one is okay with what happened.”
Rock, who has not yet responded publicly to the incident, was due to appear in a stand-up on Wednesday night in Boston.
Others from Sunday’s TV show also began to speak openly. Co-host Wanda Sykes told Ellen DeGeneres in an interview on April 7 that she felt physically ill when Smith slapped Rock. When he returned to his seat, Smith shouted twice at Rock “to keep my wife’s name out of your mouth.”
“I’m still a little bit injured by this,” Sykes said in a clip released Wednesday.
Within an hour, Smith returned to the stage to receive the Best Actor Award for his performance in “King Richard.” Many at the Dolby Theater applauded him standing up.
“I was like, how vulgar is that? This is the wrong message. You attack someone and they take you out of the building and that’s it. But to let him go, I thought it was vulgar,” Sykes said. “I wanted to be able to run outside (on stage) after he won and say, ‘Unfortunately, Will could not be here tonight.’
