Jada Pinkett Smith's laughter is long gone.

The actress, who was amused by her husband Will Smith's slap in the face to Chris Rock at the Oscars two weeks ago, is now soft-spoken.

She wished Smith had avoided a physical altercation, the fifty-year-old said.

But she doesn't blame her husband for the slap in the face.

"Smith didn't have to do that"

Still, a source told US Weekly, Pinkett Smith is not among the women who need male protection.

"So Smith didn't have to do what he did," the confidant alluded to the slap the actor gave comedian Rock after his joke about Pinkett Smith's shaved skull.

Pinkett Smith's attempt to downplay the "slap" worked.

Almost two weeks earlier than announced, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS), Hollywood leaders and organizers of the Oscars, debated possible penalties for Smith on Friday - and agreed to bar the 53-year-old from the awards ceremony and other events for the coming ones rule out ten years.

"The 94th Oscars were overshadowed by Mr. Smith's unacceptable and harmful conduct," AMPAS said in an open letter.

But she, too, acted wrongly.

"We are sorry that we did not deal with the situation properly," admitted the film academy.

Despite Rock's slap, about 30 minutes later, the Academy had awarded Smith the Best Actor trophy for his role as the father of tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams in the biopic King Richard.

In his tearful acceptance speech, Smith apologized to the film academy and the audience, but declined to apologize to Rock.

In the days following the Oscars, it was revealed that Smith had refused to leave the Dolby Theater after the slap.

Rock had meanwhile tried to save the gala.

When Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers gathered backstage to arrest Smith, he waved him off.

Many filmmakers were less forgiving.

“It was an extremely disturbing incident.

It was an assault," comedian Billy Crystal, a past Oscar host, condemned Smith's behavior.

Director Ron Howard also vented.

"I never expected this behavior.

I'm curious to see how the Academy handles this," he told industry service Deadline.com.

Former basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, an author and cultural observer of African-American history, hit Smith with a bang.

He propagated violence, degraded women, insulted the entertainment industry and fueled prejudice against blacks.

"And all with a single, capricious swipe," Abdul-Jabbar wrote on his website.

Following allegations in recent years that the Oscars were too "white", the film academy hired an all-black production team for the 94th award ceremony two weeks ago for the first time.

Several production companies, including Netflix, Sony and Apple+, are said to have put projects with Smith on hold.

Decision "too harsh"?

After the film academy's decision to settle for a ten-year ban on Smith, he announced on Saturday night that he would accept the sentence.

The actor had already terminated his membership of AMPAS last week.

Meanwhile, Kenny Rock, who is a comedian like his older brother Chris Rock, repeated calls for Smith's Oscar to be revoked.

The board of directors of the Academy had also allegedly considered asking the winner to return the trophy.

Since convicted sex offenders like Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polanski were allowed to keep their Oscars, AMPAS is said to have waived the withdrawal.

In Hollywood, meanwhile, Smith's temporary ban from Film Academy events provoked mixed reactions.

The rapper 50 Cent called the decision "too harsh", the British comedian Ricky Gervais scoffed at reducing the penalty for good behavior.

And Pinkett Smith, known for revelations about affairs, early experiences of masturbation and drug excesses?

He held back and refrained from making a statement.