Not so fast, Academy. Less than 24 hours after the organization behind the Oscars said in a statement that Will Smith “was asked to leave the ceremony and refused” after he slapped Chris Rock, reports have surfaced calling that claim into question. Per Variety, “sources close to the situation are refuting that the actor was ever formally urged to leave the show. It appears that in the chaos that surrounded the altercation, the Academy and the show’s producer sent mixed message about whether Smith should be expelled from the event.”
The Academy’s mixed messaging around the Oscar show’s abrupt altercation began after the telecast on Sunday, when the group’s Twitter account vaguely posted, “The Academy does not condone violence of any form,” before celebrating all of the night’s winners who “deserve this moment of recognition.” Of course, Smith accepted the best-actor Oscar less than an hour after his violent outburst, having not left or been removed from the show. On Monday, the Academy followed up in stronger terms, announcing it would be initiating an investigation of Smith’s actions, and by Wednesday, called out the slap as a “deeply shocking, traumatic event,” adding that sanctions including suspension or expulsion against Smith were on the table.
The Academy has not been transparent about how or whether Smith was formally asked to leave the ceremony, having only alluded to doing so after days of backlash. (Cohost Wanda Sykes said earlier on Wednesday, criticizing the apparent decision to allow Smith to stay at the show, “You assault somebody, you get escorted out the building, and that’s it.”) Sourced reporting emerged late Wednesday, via TMZ, that Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson were “furious” at Smith and had requested that he leave the ceremony. But now, it appears the various factions behind the Oscars production were in conflict over what to do.
Sources told Variety that producer Will Packer was key to Smith staying at the show: “In the roughly 30 minutes following Smith’s attack on Rock, before the award for best actor was presented, Packer walked out into the orchestra and conferred with Smith, according to two witnesses.” TMZ adds that Packer “walked up to Will and said, ‘We do not want you to leave.’”
Packer, for his part, had initially, cryptically tweeted after Sunday night’s Oscars, “I said it wouldn’t be boring,” before clarifying the next day, “this was a very painful moment for me. On many levels.” (Packer did not reply to Variety’s request for comment on Thursday.)
The Academy’s board of governors will next meet on April 18, the soonest that disciplinary actions against Smith may be announced. There remains great uncertainty over the severity and form of the potential response, a lack of clarity only augmented by the continued bungled messaging around what the initial response to the slap actually was.
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