Will Smith Was Never Asked To Leave Oscars After Chris Rock Slap Despite Academy Claiming Otherwise In Scathing Letter
March 31 2022, Published 11:37 a.m. ET
Will Smith never "refused" to leave the Oscars because he wasn't asked to go.
According to a new report, producers told the King Richard actor he could stay after he slapped Chris Rock on the live broadcast in front of millions.
The details conflict with what the Academy of Motion Pictures said in their letter in which it claimed Will "refused" to leave the Dolby Theater when officials attempted to remove him. However, this report backs up what LAPD sources claim.
According to insiders, the police officers at the event on standby were never informed anyone wanted Will removed from the building, something they most certainly would have been told.
Well-placed sources allege that forcefully removing Will was never an option since the officers on duty were not told any of the Academy Award bosses wanted him to go.
The latest report insists that Will never knew there was a conversation about making him leave the event; however, here's where it gets messy.
There are usually two sides to every story, and, in this case, there are three. While sources claim Will was unaware, other insiders insist there was chatter backstage about asking the actor to leave, but the people who make the big bucks couldn't decide on what to do.
Some allegedly wanted him booted, while others wanted him to stay.
The third side is this — according to the report, Oscars producer Will Packer and an Academy official approached Will and said, "We do not want you to leave."
Packer allegedly changed his tune, walking up to Will around 8 PM, which was 35 minutes after he assaulted Chris, to tell him he could stay. Five minutes later, Will collected his first Best Actor win.
This could get messy for the Academy as all eyes are on the organization that is meeting to decide Will's punishment for putting his hands on Chris during Sunday's broadcast.
"Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated," the Academy claimed in their letter, released on Wednesday. "While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently."
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As for Chris, he opted not to file a police report against Will. He also is not planning to take legal action against the star.
While Will offered the comedian an apology, Chris has yet to speak about the matter. During his first stand-up show on Wednesday evening, he refused to crack jokes about the slap.
