The Academy Launches Formal Investigation Into Will Smith Over Slapping Incident

Will Smith is officially under investigation by The Academy.

Just before winning the Best Actor honor at the 2022 Academy Awards on Sunday (March 27), the -year-old actor walked onto the stage and hit presenter Chris Rock over a joke he made regarding Jada Pinkett Smith.

Just the day after, The Academy made the decision to formally investigate the incident.

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While the organization issued a statement just hours after it happened, the governing body is making a bigger move about it.

“The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show,” a spokesperson for the organization said, via Variety. “We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law.”

It was also reported that The Academy did weigh the option of removing Will from the venue afterwards.

Will Packer, the producer, also made a statement about what happened.