Last year at the Oscars, people across the globe were shocked after Will Smith went on stage and slapped host Chris Rock. This took place after Rock joked about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s baldness. This led to Smith eventually getting banned from attending Academy events for a decade.
Now, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Janet Yang has said that the ‘Bad Boys‘ actor can get his name engraved in his Oscar statuette despite the ban. So let’s find out in detail about what Yang said and the implications of these words.
Related: Tom Cruise And James Cameron Skip The 2023 Oscars Ceremony
Janet Yang Is Okay With Will Smith Getting His Name Engraved On His Award
Will Smith was banned from the Academy for attending their events for 10 years after he slapped Chris Rock last year. At the same event, he bagged the Best Actor award for his role in ‘King Richard.’
Janet Yang, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, appeared on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. Yang said that she is okay with Smith getting his name engraved on his Oscar statuette.
“He earned the Oscar,” she said. “He should have his name engraved on it. I don’t know if he should personally come. But yeah, we can arrange.”
The engraving of the name takes place at the Governor’s Ball after the ceremony. However, Smith never made it to the event since he was banned from attending all such events. Rock recently addressed this incident in his Netflix comedy special.
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Jimmy Kimmel Jokes About The Slap At This Year’s Oscar
Jimmy Kimmel returned to host the Oscars for the third time this year. As obvious, he joked about the slapping incident in his monologue. “We want you to have fun. We want you to feel safe. And most importantly, we want me to feel safe“, the 55-year-old said.
“So we have strict policies in place. If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and be permitted to give an 18-minute long speech.”
He then went on to tell the audience, in case of violence, to do exactly what they did last year, which is nothing. Kimmel also joked about Tom Cruise and James Cameron not attending the event.
You might also like to read: Why Did Jimmy Kimmel Threaten To Quit ABC Because Of Donald Trump?
