In response to the 'King Richard' star's announcement of his resignation, the Academy says they 'will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct.'

• Apr 2, 2022

AceShowbiz - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has responded to Will Smith's decision to resign as a member of the organization. In a statement issued immediately after the actor's announcement, the Academy said they accepted his resignation and will move forward with disciplinary proceedings for his Oscars slap.

"We have received and accepted Mr. Will Smith's immediate resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences," David Rubin, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said in a statement on Friday, April 1.

Rubin added, "We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18."

Rubin's statement was in response to Will's announcement earlier that day, in which he said that he's ready to accept all consequences for his behavior at the March 27 ceremony. "I have directly responded to the Academy's disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable," the Oscar-winning actor said in his own statement.

Admitting to having hurt "Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home," he added, "I betrayed the trust of the Academy." The "King Richard" star continued, "I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken."

"I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate," so he concluded, "Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason."

Smith has previously issued a public apology to Chris Rock, while the comedian broke his silence on the matter at his Boston show on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, conflicting stories on how the Academy immediately reacted to the Oscars slap continue to surface. On Friday, Oscars producer Will Packer said on "Good Morning America" that they did not ask Smith to leave because it's not what Rock wanted.

"I thought it was part of something that Chris and Will were doing on their own. I thought it was a bit. I wasn't concerned at all," Packer said of his initial reaction. He went up to Rock after the comedian came off stage and asked him, " 'Did he really hit you?' " He went on recalling, "And he looked at me and he goes, 'Yeah, I just took a punch from Muhammad Ali,' as only Chris can. He was immediately in joke mode, but you could tell that he was very much still in shock."

Packer added, "I made that clear, like, 'Rock, you tell me, whatever you want to do, brother,' and he was telling me, 'I'm fine.' " Based on his conversation with Rock, Packer advised members of the Academy, who were considering to "physically remove" Smith, that Rock did not want Smith to leave.

"I immediately went to the Academy leadership that was on site and I said, 'Chris Rock doesn't want that. ' I said, 'Rock has made it clear that he does not want to make a bad situation worse.' That was Chris' energy. His tone was not retaliatory, it was not angry, so I was advocating what Rock wanted in that time, which was not to physically remove Will Smith at that time because, as it has now been explained to me, that was the only option at that point," he said.

While Packer didn't blame the audience who applauded Smith when he won the Best Actor award following the slap, he said that Smith could've done better. "I think what many of us were hoping was that he would go on that stage and make it better," Packer said. "It couldn't be made right in that moment, because of what had happened, but I think we were hoping that he would make it better."

He further divulged, "…that he would stand on that stage and say what just happened minutes ago was absolutely and completely wrong [and say], 'Chris Rock, I'm so sorry, please forgive me.' That's what I was hoping for. I felt like he was going to win and I was hoping that if he stayed he said that."

Contrary to Packer's claim, a source tells TMZ that Rock never said he did not want Smith removed from the Dolby theater. "Chris told Packer 'I'm not pressing charges. All I want to do is leave.' He was never asked if he wanted Will removed. This is the Academy covering itself," the source says. An Academy source, meanwhile, responds to Packer's interview as saying, "Will Packer is not speaking on behalf of the Academy."