Actor Will Smith's slapping of presenter Chris Rock left its mark on Sunday night’s broadcast of the Oscars but the slap seen around the world was no laughing matter to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. While the Academy condemned Smith for his confrontation with Rock on Monday, Smith also apologized for the outburst.

"Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable," Smith said in a post on Instagram. "Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally," he said, referring to his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith.

"I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness," he wrote.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences earlier condemned the slapping and said it has officially launched a formal review of the incident "and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law."

Smith also apologized to "the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world.

"I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress," he added, referring to Venus and Serena Williams, who star with him in the movie King Richard.

During the broadcast, Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada.

"Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it," he said in an apparent reference to Pinkett Smith’s shaved head in comparison to Demi Moore’s U.S. Navy Seals character’s military haircut in the movie G.I. Jane.

Smith then approached the stage – which was not shown on the broadcast, but was immediately released uncensored through online platforms – and slapped Rock across the face with an open hand.

"Oh wow. Wow," a stunned Rock replied. "Will Smith just smacked the sh*t out of me."

The cameras then cut back to Smith, who shouted at Rock, "Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth."

Jada suffers from a condition called alopecia areata, a disease that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks hair follicles, causing hair loss.

Some Academy members were appalled by Smith’s actions.

"He disgraced our entire community tonight," tweeted Academy member Marshall Herskovitz. "I call upon the Academy, of which I am a member, to take disciplinary action against Will Smith," he added.

Smith went on to win the Best Actor Oscar for his role in King Richard, but there is now speculation he may be stripped of his award for violating the Academy’s code of conduct.

The Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement that Rock "declined to file a police report," but what the Academy decides to do is an entirely different matter.

"The Academy does not condone violence of any form," the group tweeted immediately after Sunday night’s broadcast.

"He could have killed him," director Judd Apatow said of the slap in a since-deleted tweet, "That’s pure out-of-control rage and violence," he added.

Smith has not yet received his gold statuette, and there is a possibility he never will, depending on what the Academy decides after its investigation.

"We’re not going to take that Oscar from him," Whoopi Goldberg, a member of the Academy’s board of governors, said on The View. "There will be consequences, I’m sure," she added.