The Academy says it's 'upset and outraged' by Will Smith's Oscars slap in a new letter to its members

• In a new letter, issued to members, the Academy said it's "upset and outraged" by Will Smith's slap.
• The Academy said it's considering "appropriate action" after the incident, involving Chris Rock.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a new letter sent to its members that the leadership is "upset and outraged" over Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards, held last Sunday.

The letter, obtained by Variety, added that the Academy will take "appropriate action" following an investigation into the incident, which will take "a few weeks."

On Sunday night before he took home the best actor Oscar for his role in "King Richard," Smith walked onto the stage and slapped Rock, a presenter, in the face. The shocking incident occurred after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, the actor's wife. The actress has been open about her losing her hair after being diagnosed with alopecia, a hair loss condition.

In a letter sent to its members, Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson wrote, "Sunday's telecast of the 94th Oscars was meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year."

"We are upset and outraged that those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior on stage by a nominee," the letter continued. "To be clear, we condemn Mr. Smith's actions that transpired Sunday night."

"As outlined in our bylaws, the Academy's Board of Governors will now make a determination on appropriate action for Mr. Smith. As governed by California law regarding members of nonprofit organizations like the Academy, and set forth in our Standards of Conduct, this must follow an official process that will take a few weeks," the letter continued.

Senior Academy leadership will convene on Wednesday evening to determine an immediate course of action, the letter specified.

The letter comes after the Academy initially shared via condemnation of the slap shortly after the telecast via Twitter. On Monday, the governing body of the Oscars issued a formal announcement, saying that it will investigate Smith's actions during the ceremony.

—The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 28, 2022

On Tuesday's episode of "The View," Whoopi Goldberg, who is a member of the Academy's Board of Governors, said that Smith will face "big consequences" for the incident.

"Let me say this: There are consequences. There are big consequences," she said. "Nobody is OK with what happened. Nobody, nobody, nobody."

When pressed by her cohosts for more information Goldberg declined to elaborate, saying: "I'm not going to talk to you about what's going on with the Oscars."