Will Will Smith Appear at the 2023 Oscars?

Almost a year has passed since Will Smith hit Chris Rock on the stage of the Academy Awards. As a result, he is not expected to attend this year’s 95th Oscars ceremony on Sunday night.

Usually, Smith would have been one of the prominent award categories presenters in this year’s ceremony, having won the Best Actor award for his role in “King Richard” last year. It’s a tradition for the previous year’s winners to return and present an acting prize. But, unfortunately, this won’t happen at the 2023 ceremony.

During the 94th annual awards show, Smith hit Rock on stage after the comedian, one of the presenters that night, joked about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Pinkett Smith had publicly spoken about her hair loss struggles due to alopecia, but Rock claimed he didn’t know about it when he made the quip, “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see you.”

Will Smith slaps Chris Rock.

After Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the Academy Awards, the board of governors for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences decided to ban Smith from any Academy event for the next ten years. Smith also resigned from the Academy before his barring and stated later that he respected and accepted the Academy’s decision.

Smith apologized to Rock and others affected by his actions through social media posts. He expressed regret and embarrassment for his behavior and acknowledged that it did not indicate the man he wanted to be. Smith also apologized to the Academy, the show’s producers, attendees, and viewers worldwide. He stated that he regretted his behavior because it stained an otherwise beautiful journey for all of them.

Despite being banned from Academy events for the next decade, Smith is still eligible for nomination, but he will not be able to accept an award in person. Smith has not been nominated for any awards at the 2023 Oscars and has kept a low profile in the months following the incident.

According to Variety, Smith is preparing for his first acting roles in over a year in Sony’s “Bad Boys 4” and Netflix’s “Fast and Loose.” However, some studio executives are still wary of working with him after the incident. One high-ranking executive stated,

“Everyone was waiting to see who would blink first.”

Selective Outrage

Meanwhile, Rock’s Netflix comedy particular, “Selective Outrage,” premiered on March 4th, and the incident’s aftermath was brought to light. Rock tried to ask Smith to offer condolences, but he didn’t answer. Rock also suggested that his altercation with the Smith family started at the 2016 Oscars he hosted. That year, Pinkett Smith called for a boycott due to the lack of diversity in nominations.

“I tried to call the motherfucker. I tried to call that man and give him my condolences. He didn’t pick up for me,” Rock said. “Everybody called him a bitch and who does he hit? Me.”

As for the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer confirmed in an interview with Time magazine that the organization has implemented a new “crisis team” to avoid and navigate potential real-time threats. Academy president Janet Yang previously said the group’s response to the incident was not quick enough.

“We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and many plans in place,” Kramer said.

“We’ve run many scenarios. So we hope we will be prepared for anything that we may not anticipate right now but are planning for just in case it does happen.”