The Academy Debated Making Will Smith Leave the Oscars, Prioritized Chris Rock’s Safety After Slap

usmagazine.com:

The show must go on. After Will Smith slapped Chris Rock for his joke about Jada Pinkett Smith at the 2022 Oscars, people behind the scenes were “scrambling” to figure out their next steps.“The higher-ups from the Academy, once they realized the slap was real, were first focused on making sure Chris was OK,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly, noting that initially, it wasn’t clear whether the incident was staged. “Several workers went to check on [Chris] after the slap and he told everyone he was fine.”During the live awards show, Rock, 57, made a joke referring to Pinkett Smith, 50, as G.I.

Jane due to her shaved head. The Red Table Talk host, who has alopecia, rolled her eyes before Smith, 53, walked up to the stage to hit the comedian for his comment.“Will Smith just f—king smacked the s—t out of me,” the Saturday Night Live alum said after the stream was muted.

The Suicide Squad actor returned to his seat before yelling at Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out your f—king mouth.”According to another insider, Smith and Rock “did not see each other” after the altercation. “Everyone knew where Chris and Will were afterward and were not about to let them interact again for safety reasons,” the first source revealed.After receiving the best actor award for his performance in King Richard, the Philadelphia native attempted to apologize for his involvement. “I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people.

I know to do what we do, you got to be able to take abuse,” he said during his emotional speech. “You got to be able to have people talk crazy about you.