Will Smith Welcome to Have His Oscar Engraved with Name, Says Academy President: 'He Earned' It
Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Will Smith
Will Smith is welcome to have his name engraved on his Best Actor Oscar, according to the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Speaking out on the latest episode of The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, Janet Yang noted that Smith, 54, "earned the Oscar," which he won last year for his performance in King Richard.
Despite the fallout after Smith slapped Chris Rock in 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.
Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — which also banned 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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Myung Chun/Getty Chris Rock and Will Smith
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At this year's Oscars ceremony on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Smith would traditionally have presented the award for Best Actress, as it is usually given out by the previous year's Best Actor winner.
But this year, Halle Berry — who previously won Best Actress for her role in 2001's Monster's Ball — took the stage alongside Jessica Chastain to present the trophy to Michelle Yeoh, for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The Bruised director and star, 56, and Chastain, 45, made no mention of Smith, nor the controversy surrounding last year's Oscars ceremony, as they presented the award to Yeoh, 60, on Sunday.
Sunday's ceremony came just over a week after Rock addressed the assault in his live Netflix comedy special Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, peppering it with scathing jokes about the Smiths and their marriage.
"He said what he needed to say and doesn't give a s--- about the reaction either way. He isn't worried," a source told PEOPLE of the comedian.
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"For the most part, I think it was well received. People don't expect sugarcoating from Chris Rock," the insider added.
Yang said on the Awards Chatter podcast that she felt "numb" after watching Smith smack Rock across the face at 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.
