The Will Smith Oscars drama just took a very strange turn
On Wednesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences claimed they asked Will Smith to leave the Oscars ceremony after he forcibly slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage.
Now sources are saying nothing could be further from the truth, and that a producer explicitly told Smith he could remain in the Dolby Theater.The sources, who spoke anonymously with TMZ, are accusing the Academy of lying about the incident.According to them, there was a debate among officials during a commercial break as to whether or not to eject Smith, but no consensus was reached.“We’re told Will was aware there was talk about asking him to leave the theater.
During one of the commercial breaks, we’re told Oscars producer Will Packer walked up to Will and said, ‘We do not want you to leave’ … this according to our sources,” TMZ reports. “Will Packer walked up to Will Smith just after 8 PM, around 35 minutes after the slap.
That’s when he told Will he could stay, according to our sources. Will won the Best Actor Award around 5 minutes later.”The shocking moment came after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia.
