The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has officially responded to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony last night. The incident, which took place while Rock was presenting the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, was ignited by the presenter making a joke aimed at actor Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith's wife. Rock told Pinkett Smith that he couldn't wait to see her in "G.I. Jane 2", referencing the actor's short hairstyle which was a result of her alopecia diagnosis. Following this, Smith took to the stage to slap Rock across the face, before returning to his seat and shouting at the presenter to "keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth!". The altercation has since gained extensive media attention, with the uncensored clip circulating widely on social media.

Many of the nominees present were visibly shocked by the event, no one more so than Rock. However, less than an hour later, Smith won his first Oscar for his performance as Richard Williams in King Richard and returned to the stage. During his tearful acceptance speech, the actor stated that he wanted "to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to my fellow nominees", acknowledging that those in the film industry have "got to be able to take abuse."

Related: What Happened With Will Smith & Chris Rock At The Oscars?

The Academy itself has now officially responded to the events that took place during last night's ceremony. Posting their brief statement on Twitter, the Academy declared that it "does not condone violence of any form" before going-on "to celebrate...our winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world." Check out the Academy's full statement here:

Click here to see the original post.

Update: The Academy has released a new statement on the incident that occurred during the Oscars 2022 ceremony, which can be read below:

The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. 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.

Smith's unprecedented behavior has received varying responses from fans and celebrities, but it would appear that most are in agreement that Smith was in the wrong to physically assault Rock. Although it has since been confirmed that Rock will not file a police report into the incident, the Academy itself has also been subjected to criticism for what happened, with some denouncing the organization for continuing to award Smith the Oscar for Best Actor. This response, therefore, likely comes partly as a result of this backlash; but while the statement condemns violence in principle, it fails to address the altercation directly and does not provide any further information as to what steps, if any, the Academy will be taking as a result of it. Indeed, its main focus on celebrating last night's winners suggests a plea from the organization for audiences to move-on from the event.

The Oscars have received much criticism over the years for a number of incidents and decisions, from the La La Land and Moonlight Best Picture fiasco in 2016, to last year's controversial choice to end the ceremony with the Best Actor award. The brief and non-specific nature of this response to the latest Oscars controversy will likely not placate viewers who were critical of the Academy for doing seemingly nothing after the assault happened. As such, it may be that for many this statement fails to properly condemn what Smith did, since it appears reluctant to mention the actor by name and focus more on the evening's Oscar winners, which includes Smith himself. Regardless as to how this response is received, the 94th Academy Awards will unquestionably be remembered as one of the most dramatic in the organization's history.

More: Oscars 2021: What Went Wrong

Source: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences/Twitter