Oscar slap episode: Will Smith resigns from the Academy

"I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate," Smith said in a statement shared with CNN by his publicist.

Smith's statement concluded, "Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason."

Will Smith, who picked up his much deserved Best Actor Oscar Trophy, is right now the talk of the showbiz world after punching Chris Rock at the Academy Awards stage on Sunday leaving spectators shocked after the comedian cracked a joke on the former's wife-actor Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Chris Rock, however, had laughed off the incident and continued in his role as a presenter for the Best Documentary award.

Rock had cracked a joke on Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith by comparing her tightly cropped hair to Demi Moore's appearance in the film G.I.Jane.

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Jada has openly talked about her autoimmune disorder that resulted in alopecia and hence, the joke did go down well with Smith, who went up to the stage and punched Rock, leaving everybody in attendance shocked over the events.

"Keep my wife's name out of your f*****g mouth," Smith had shouted at Rock after returning to his seat.

After receiving the jab from the actor, Rock had said, "Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me."