Academy’s key ‘lie’ about aftermath of Will Smith scandal

The Academy Awards are not telling the whole truth about its role in the slap heard around the world, according to a new report.

Will Smith at the Oscars. Picture: AFP

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is not telling the whole truth about its role in the slap heard around the world, according to a new report.

Hours after the organisation claimed it asked Will Smith to leave the 2022 Oscars but he “refused,” TMZ sources claimed today that a consensus was never actually reached because officials were split about how to handle the situation.

Three insiders who were reportedly at Monday’s ceremony and “witnessed various conversations” told the outlet that some wanted Smith, 53, to leave, but others did not.

The slap instantly became the most shocking onstage moment in Oscars history. Picture: AFP

The sources “with direct knowledge” who “were present” at the show also alleged to TMZ that show producer Will Packer had told the King Richard star “he could stay.”

The Academy, however, told the Associated Press, “Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated. While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognise we could have handled the situation differently.”

A rep for the org did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment on the conflicting report.

Smith shocked viewers and audience members on Monday when he rushed on stage at the Oscars to slap Chris Rock after the comic, 57, made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head.

A tearful Smith accepts his Best Actor award. Picture: AFP

A few minutes later, Smith took to the stage again to accept the award for Best Actor. In a tearful speech, he apologised to everyone but Rock.

Smith did, however, issue a formal apology to Rock the next day.

“My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable,” he wrote in a statement on Instagram. “Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about my Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.”

Will and Jada on the red carpet before all the drama went down. Picture: AFP

The Bad Boys star added, “I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

Many, including Oscar co-hosts Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes, have been left miffed by how the Academy handled the debacle.

“I was like, ‘How gross is this?’” Sykes, 58, told Ellen DeGeneres during an appearance on her talk show. “This is just the wrong message. If you assault somebody, you get escorted out of the building and that’s it, but for them to let him continue, I thought it was gross.”

This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission