Will Smith.Photo: Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty
Will Smithis welcome to have his name engraved onhis Best Actor Oscar, according to the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Speaking out onthe latest episodeofThe Hollywood Reporter’sAwards Chatterpodcast, Janet Yang noted that Smith, 54, “earned the Oscar,” which he won last year for his performance inKing Richard.
Despite the fallout after Smith slappedChris Rockin the face onstage during the ceremony,Smith “should have his name engraved on"the trophy, Yang said.
“I don’t know if he should personally come. But yeah, we can arrange,” she added.
Smithresigned from the Academyof Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — which alsobanned him from attending its events for 10 years— after he infamously struck Rock, 58, in the face onstage, after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife,Jada Pinkett Smith.
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Chris Rock and Will Smith.Myung Chun/Getty
But this year,Halle Berry— who previouslywon Best Actressfor her role in 2001’sMonster’s Ball— took the stage alongsideJessica Chastainto present the trophy toMichelle Yeoh, for her role inEverything Everywhere All at Once.
TheBruiseddirector and star, 56, and Chastain, 45, made no mention of Smith, nor the controversy surrounding last year’s Oscars ceremony, as theypresented the award to Yeoh, 60, on Sunday.
Sunday’s ceremony came just over a week after Rockaddressed the assaultin his liveNetflixcomedy specialChris Rock: Selective Outrage, peppering it with scathing jokes about the Smiths and their marriage.
“Hesaid what he needed to sayand doesn’t give a s— about the reaction either way. He isn’t worried,” a source told PEOPLE of the comedian.
RELATED VIDEO: Chris Rock Skewers Will and Jada Pinkett Smith Entanglement Drama: ‘She Hurt Him Way More Than He Hurt Me’
“For the most part, I think it was well received. People don’t expect sugarcoating from Chris Rock,” the insider added.
Yang said on theAwards Chatterpodcast that she felt “numb” after watchingSmith smack Rock across the faceat the 94th Academy Awards, and at first thought it was a joke.
“Like everyone else, in the beginning when Will walks onto stage,we’re like, ‘Oh, this is a funny bit. He is going to pretend he slaps him, and then Chris is going to act stunned,’ " she said. “And then it was like, ‘Okay, well, that’s over.’ "
“And then he goes back to his seat and then he starts shouting — that’s when, of course, everyone said, ‘Oh my God, this is real,’ " Yang added.
The 95th Academy Awards aired live on ABC Sunday, March 12, at 8 p.m. ET.
source: people.com
