Real or staged? The Oscars Release Formal Statement Along With Message For Will Smith

An Oscar’s official confirmed on Sunday night that Will Smith slapping Chris Rock across the face during the live taping of the 2022 Oscars was not a planned stunt.

Ramin Setoodeh, the Variety executive editor tweeted from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood saying, “Someone who works for the Oscars told me that Chris Rock was not interrupted by Will Smith at rehearsals yesterday… It was not supposed to happen. It was real. #Oscars.”

Smith (53), surprised the world when he walked on stage and struck Rock (57) in the face after the comedian joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head — resulting from her struggle with alopecia.

WATCH THE UNCENSORED EXCHANGE BETWEEN WILL SMITH & CHRIS ROCK

VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rock pic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 28, 2022

Following this incident with Will Smith’s assault on Chris Rock at Sunday’s ceremony. The organization behind the annual film awards show initially said it condemned violence without mentioning Smith by name, but now it is making its displeasure over the incident more explicit.

“The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show,” a spokesperson for the organization said. “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.”

It appears that Smith may face some type of disciplinary action or sanction, though it’s unlikely he will be made to forfeit his prize. In its official= standards of conduct, the Academy states it is “categorically opposed to any form of abuse.

Smith was named best actor later in the evening. He used his time at the podium to apologize to the Academy and to his fellow nominees — he did not mention Chris Rock.

Smith, who was named best actor for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the father of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams, in “King Richard,” had his big night tainted by his outburst. After Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s close cropped haircut, referencing “G.I. Jane,” Smith charged the stage and slapped Rock. He then screamed at Rock to “leave my wife’s name out of your F-ing mouth.” Pinkett Smith has said her hair loss results from alopecia.

“Love will make you do crazy things,” he said, adding, “To do what we do, you got to be able to take abuse. You got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you got to be able to have people disrespecting you. And you got to smile, you got to pretend like that’s okay.”