Oscars 2022: Will Smith Was Almost ‘Removed’ After Slapping Chris Rock

When Will Smith returned to his seat from doing what some, considered to be an assault on Chris Rock, Oscars organizers at one point considered having Will Smith removed from his seat during the 2022 ceremony.

An industry source told PEOPLE that behind the scenes there were lots of people, different voices and bifurcated opinions, that we’re weighing the incident that happened and what the best and quickest course of action should be. Some went to check on Chris Rock to ascertain if he was okay.

The source elaborated that, it took some minutes to first figure out if it was a stunt, and then try and get people on the same page — including the producers, ABC, the Academy, reps who were not all in the same place or all looking at their phones in real time, and even to see if Chris wanted to press charges.

The source revealed that having Will removed was definitely discussed seriously. “You can’t plan for something like this and make a split-second decision that needs everyone’s buy-in, and in any iteration that would have consequences,” the insider says.

Will Smith – Why Did Will Smith Slap Chris Rock?

During the Oscars Academy Award which took place in Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 27, Chris Rock made a joke saying “Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it, all right?”

It’s public knowledge that Jada Pinkette Smith has had alopecia since 2018. When Chris made that joke, he was referring to her hair matching Demi Moore’s shaved head in the movie G.I. Jane. Jada who didn’t find the joke funny, rolled her eyes but, before one could say Jack, Will was on his feet, walking up to Chris to deliver him a slap, screaming at Chris who was obviously taken unaware by Wills reaction “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—–g mouth.” Will remained seated with Jada at his table for the rest of the night.

Will Smith – How Did The Academy Feel About Wills Action?

After the show, the Academy said in a statement that “The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world,” it continued, shifting the focus to the newly minted Oscar winners.

Will Parker, who was the producer of this year’s Oscar Awards, together with the first-ever all-Black producing team for the Annual Academy Award, took to his Twitter to tweet: “Welp…I said it wouldn’t be boring.”

The LAPD later said that Chris did not opt to file charges.

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