The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences condemned actor Will Smith on Monday for slapping host Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards a day prior and announced it would conduct a formal investigation into Smith's conduct, The Associated Press reported.
"The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night's show," the organization said in a statement, according to the outlet.
"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."
A source within the organization told The Sun that an emergency meeting was called after the ceremony concluded, where serious talks were had over whether to strip Smith of his best lead actor award, which he won for his role in "King Richard."
"There have been calls to have Will stripped of his best actor gong. They cannot be seen to be condoning violence in any way, and there are some people in the Academy who believe they should remove the award from him to make a point. Others, however, believe he should be allowed to hold on to it," the source said.
The Oscar slap followed a joke from Rock that poked fun at the hair loss of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia.
Rock had compared Jada's hair loss to Demi Moore's character in the movie "G.I. Jane," who sports a bald head as she goes through Navy SEAL training.
"Jada, I love you. 'G.I. Jane 2,' can't wait to see it," he said before the confrontation.
The Los Angeles Police Department said it was aware of the incident but not pursuing an investigation after Rock declined to file a police report, per AP.
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