The star, Will Smith did not agree to leave the Oscars ceremony after slapping the comedian Chris Rock, as he had been asked, announced Wednesday, March 30 the Academy of the Oscars began a disciplinary procedure against the actor.

The first public reaction of Chris Rock said at the beginning of a show in Boston that he was “still digesting what happened.

“While we wish to make it clear that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize that we could have handled the situation differently,” the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, wrote in a statement.

The unfortunate affair began with a joke by Chris Rock on the shaved head of Jada Pinkett Smith, suffering from alopecia – a disease-causing significant hair loss, which she revealed a few years ago – which had triggered the slaughter Sunday night. Will Smith had suddenly gone on stage and slapped Chris Rock under the stunned eye of celebrities and viewers.

Will Smith, who was awarded the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in The Williams Method shortly after the incident, has since publicly apologized to Chris Rock and the Academy.

Regarding this exceptional act of violence, the Academy’s board of directors met on Wednesday, March 30 and “initiated disciplinary proceedings against Will Smith for violations of Academy rules, including inappropriate physical contact, abusive or unsafe conduct and compromising the integrity of the Academy,” according to the statement. America’s premier film institution is giving the actor at least 15 days to “be heard through a written response.”

It is expected that a possible “disciplinary action” against him will be discussed at a meeting scheduled for April 18, it adds. It could include the suspension or expulsion of Will Smith from the Academy, which has nearly 10,000 members.

Harvey Weinstein, the fallen Hollywood mogul convicted of rape and sexual assault, had been expelled from the Academy in the midst of the #MeToo movement in 2017. A few months later, it had also expelled director Roman Polanski and actor Bill Cosby.