Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Janet Young said Will Smith is happy to add an engraved nameplate to the best actor Oscar statuette, despite being banned from Academy events for a decade after he punched Chris Rock at last year’s ceremony.
Last month, Smith duetted a video on TikTok asking viewers to pick up an object and ask it what it thinks of you. In the original video, a woman claimed that “you will get answers in your mind from your intuition.”
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Smith went on to hold the Oscar statuette he won for his performance in the film King Richardclearly indicates that the award is not engraved.
Typically, Oscar winners attend the Governors Ball after the ceremony, where they will add their nameplate to the trophy. But Smith never made it to the ball last year – after slapping Rock on stage during an awards show – and was banned from Oscars and Academy events for the next 10 years.
During the last episode The Hollywood Reporterof Award talk podcast, Yang said THRScott Feinberg thinks Smith’s name should be engraved on the Oscars, when asked what the actor would say if he reached out for a nameplate.
“She won an Oscar,” she said in an interview published the day before the 95th Oscars. “His name should be engraved on it. I don’t know if he should come in person. But yes, we can arrange.”
“We’re really numb,” Yang said as she described what went through her head when she witnessed the actor’s hit on the comedian.
“Like everybody else, when Will comes on stage we’re like, ‘Oh, that’s funny.’ He’ll act like he’s punching him, and then Chris will be in a daze.” “And then it was like, ‘Okay, it’s over.’ And then he goes back to his seat and then starts screaming – at which point, of course, everyone’s like, ‘Oh my God, this is real.’
Yang said he and Academy CEO Bill Kramer asked Rock to probably host again before coming on board, and he declined. The Rock addressed the slapping incident in a new comedy last week. Chris Rock: Chosen Rage, Streamed live on Netflix.
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