The Oscars

Will Smith was NEVER asked to leave the Oscars after he slapped Chris Rock. In fact, the opposite is true -- he was told by the producer of the show he could stay ... this according to sources with direct knowledge who were present.

As you know by now, the Academy said Wednesday they had asked Will to leave the Dolby Theater after the slap but he refused. Three sources who were at the ceremony and witnessed various conversations tell TMZ ... yes, after the slap Academy officials were backstage with Will's reps and there were heated conversations about what had gone down.

We're told there was a split among the officials ... some did want him booted, but others did not. There were various discussions during several commercial breaks, but they never reached a consensus.

We're told Will was aware there was talk about asking him to leave the theater. During one of the commercial breaks, we're told Oscars producer Will Packer walked up to Will and said, "We do not want you to leave" ... this according to our sources.

Will Packer walked up to Will Smith just after 8 PM, around 35 minutes after the slap. That's when he told Will he could stay, according to our sources. Will won the Best Actor Award around 5 minutes later.

Chris Rock kicked off his comedy tour in Boston to thunderous applause, but he said he's still processing what went down at the Oscars so he'll talk about the slap later, but he did tease the crowd.

Chris played to a hyper-enthusiastic, sold-out crowd at the Wilbur Theater in Boston, and joked, "How was your weekend?" The crowd loved it.

He then said, "I don't have a bunch of s*** about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I'm still kind of processing what happened," adding, "So, at some point, I'll talk about that s***.  And it will be serious and funny."

So he didn't say whether he accepted Will Smith's apology, although as we reported, our sources say he has not talked to Smith and has not addressed Smith's Instagram mea culpa. Based on what we know, he's not accepting the apology, at least not now.

Chris walked out in a white suit to a huge ovation, and almost seemed surprised, exclaiming, "Whoa, okay!" The applause didn't subside, and Rock implored the crowd, "Yo, let me do the show!"

After Chris' brief opening comments, an audience member screamed, "F*** Will Smith!"

He then said, "I'm going to tell some jokes. It's nice to just be out." And then he launched into his act.

Get this ... the base price for tickets was $50, but after the slap, the price on the street approached as high as $8,000!

As we reported, the President and CEO of the Academy had told Will to leave the Dolby Theatre after the slap, but he refused, and the 2 honchos were, as one source put it, "apoplectic." They were screaming backstage at Will's rep ... it was an insane scene, we're told.

Will Smith was asked to leave the Oscars -- we know that -- but despite his refusal to leave the Dolby Theater after he slapped Chris Rock, forcibly removing him was never an option ... TMZ learned.

LAPD sources tell TMZ ... the cops who were inside the venue were never consulted about removing Smith ... something we're told that would have been done if the Academy wanted him out one way or the other.

As we reported, Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson were "furious" at Will, and there was plenty of yelling backstage with Will's reps after the slap. As one source described it, the Academy honchos were "apoplectic."

Our sources say it didn't take long at all for the officials to make it clear they wanted Will out of the auditorium. The exact words used to his reps were unclear, but as we've reported, Will refused to exit.

The Academy could have buttonholed the Best Actor presenters and told them in advance ... if Will won, simply say he's not invited on stage and then quickly say "We'll be right back" and then they would go to commercial. That didn't happen, and we're told the reasoning was  the Academy officials felt it would make a bad situation even worse.

And, our LAPD sources say the officers on hand not only asked Chris Rock immediately after the incident if he wanted to file a police report, but we're told they followed up a second time and contacted Chris' rep and asked again ... both time cops were told Chris did not want to file.

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul certainly know how to discuss sensitive topics ... injecting a little humor and a lot of salesmanship into the Will Smith/Chris Rock brouhaha.

We got the "Breaking Bad" stars Wednesday at Chateau Marmont in WeHo ... and they were quick to say lots of stuff can be settled over a bottle ... a bottle of Mezcal.

Yeah, and here's where the salesmanship comes in ... Mezcal is Aaron and Bryan's label. For the uninitiated, it's kind of like tequila, but as Aaron says, it's not tequila.

As for their feelings about the slap, the apology and the fallout, Aaron and Bryan trod lightly, which is what some other celebs are doing as well ... however a number of celebs have come out swinging, railing at Will for ruining the Oscars.

Will Smith sticking around at the Oscars, after slapping Chris Rock, is NOT what the Academy wanted -- but he dug in his heels when they tried to give him the boot.

That's the new startling claim from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which fired off a letter Wednesday, announcing their Board of Governors has begun disciplinary proceedings on Will for violating their Standards of Conduct.

In the letter they write ... "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 recognize we could have handled the situation differently."

That's pretty shocking, especially since the speculation up to this point was that the Academy and the show producers allowed Will to stay until his Best Actor category was announced -- something for which they've been heavily criticized.

They go on to say this about the whole thing in terms of logistics ... "consistent with the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, as well as California law, Mr. Smith is being provided at least 15 days' notice of a vote regarding his violations and sanctions, and the opportunity to be heard beforehand by means of a written response."

The Board further explains that at their next meeting on April 18, they'll have a decision on his punishment -- which could include suspension, expulsion or other sanctions permitted their bylaws.

One final note from them on what Will did -- "Mr. Smith's actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television. Mr. Rock, we apologize to you for what you experienced on our stage and thank you for your resilience in that moment. We also apologize to our nominees, guests and viewers for what transpired during what should have been a celebratory event."

Of course, the question now is ... when exactly did they approach him about beating it, and to what extent did they insist?

Chris Rock is locked and loaded for the kickoff of his comedy tour, arriving at the venue in Boston and looking like he's ready for funny business.

We got photos of Chris arriving at the Wilbur Theater in Beantown, looking pretty stoic and clearly knowing ... millions and millions of folks are waiting for him to take the mic and say SOMETHING about that slap.

Chris' "Ego Death Tour" is all the rage ... all 5 nights at the Wilbur are not only sold out ... tickets are being scalped at a king's ransom -- some going for over $1,000.

Chris has not said anything publicly about the incident and has not publicly accepted Will Smith's apology. We know as of Tuesday night the 2 had not spoken, so it doesn't appear Will picked up the phone to privately apologize.

As for whether Chris accepts Will's Instagram mea culpa ... don't count on it. His brother, Tony Rock, has scoffed at Will's apology, and based on everything we know the 2 brothers are in lockstep.

As we reported, there's a lot of smoke that Will's tirade goes way beyond a hair joke. Back in 2016, when the Smith's called for a boycott of the Oscars because of a lack of inclusiveness, they asked Chris to join the boycott, but he declined ... and ever since there's been beef between them. Chris' jokes about Will and Jada at that ceremony further cemented their divide.

Chris Rock has his feet firmly planted on Boston soil, as he prepares to kick off his "Ego Death Tour" ... and you better believe there won't be an empty seat in the house.

A photog asked Chris as he was leaving the airport if he could ask a few questions, but the comic was mum.

Chris is one of the biggest comedians in the biz, but after the slap, everything's gone up several levels. All of his 5 shows in Beantown are sold out, and tickets are being scalped for a king's ransom ... and we're not talkin' "King Richard."

Tony Rock, Chris' brother, made it clear, he thinks Will's apology to Chris was BS, says he did NOT approve of it.

It seems from everything we know Chris doesn't approve either, because he hasn't said a word about it since Will posted his regrets. As for why ... well, for starters, you'd think when someone assaults someone else, the aggressor might pick up the phone and deliver a personal apology rather than telling it to the world.

Diddy had said Chris and Will spoke and buried the hatchet, but multiple sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ that's just not true. They have not spoken.

What everyone wants to know ... will Chris address the attack Wednesday night at his show.  We'll let you know as soon as it goes down.

The doctor who Will Smith portrayed in the 2015 film "Concussion" says the actor's physical outburst at Sunday's Oscars ceremony isn't indicative of who he is, and thinks when the dust settles, Will's image will be untarnished.

Dr. Bennet Omalu -- portrayed by Smith -- tells TMZ ... the actor transformed his life for the better, noting he's one of the most beautiful people he's ever met. He says the incident with Chris Rock doesn't sully the actor's reputation ... it simply shows a more human side of him.

While the doctor doesn't condone violence, he thinks the slap was simply an impulsive act, which proved to viewers he isn't like other "superstars" ... he's way more authentic.

He also attributes the outburst to pressure ... with the looming question of who will win Best Actor no doubt on Will's mind. Dr. Omalu says he loves Smith even more after the incident.

O.J. Simpson apparently sees a little bit of himself in Will Smith after his Oscars slap -- saying that he, too, wanted to put hands on people back when he was in the spotlight.

The Juice sounded off on the whole saga, and his main takeaway is in his Twitter caption ... "He was wrong but I understand the sentiment." In the video, he elaborates ... explaining, yeah, Will made a mistake -- but he kinda sympathizes with him.

Check it out ... O.J. says he's also been through a lot of "crap," and on the other side of that -- presumably in reference to his acquittal in the '90s -- was often the butt of tons of jokes.

He makes no bones about how he felt about those "O.J. routines," saying he wanted to "b-slap" at least a couple of those comedians -- but acknowledges he restrained himself, almost drawing the contrast between him and Will ... which, to many, is the ultimate irony.

Bottom line ... O.J. defends Chris Rock here, saying it's comedy -- and no matter how it makes you feel, you (and Will by extension) have to accept it.

Now, here's the kicker ... O.J. theorizes that if he woulda pulled the same stunt after his Las Vegas arrest/conviction -- he believes he would've gotten life in prison without the possibility of parole, seemingly pointing out that Will's getting a pass because he's Will Smith.

While there's lots of POVs on Will Smith's slap -- one person has a take we haven't heard, and that'd be Bill Maher ... who sees it as a microcosm of society at large these days.

We got the HBO host and legendary comic Tuesday on "TMZ Live," and he kept it as honest as ever when dishing his thoughts on the whole Oscars saga. Long story short ... BM seems to think Will's reaction was literally faux Twitter outrage encapsulated in, well, 'Real Time.'

Check out Bill's perspective ... because it really feels spot-on as far as what exactly happened, or at least what we all saw anyway.

Bill gives the play-by-play, explaining that Will laughed at Chris Rock's "G.I. Jane" joke at first -- apparently finding some humor in it, or so it would seem -- but then changing his tune on a dime, which looked to be in direct response to how Jada Pinkett reacted ... AKA, not well.

It was then that Will got up and did what he did, which Bill says was a total overreaction -- not dissimilar from what he believes a lot of Twitter justice warriors do on the daily.

In his mind, a lot of folks might think something is funny at first (privately) but then look around the room and realize they aren't "allowed" to actually feel that way ... and then pivot accordingly, oftentimes resulting in overblown indignation.

That's what Bill thinks Will's episode amounted to -- him realizing Jada was more offended than he was, and taking on her cause in the most outrageous way possible ... going up and striking Chris, whom Bill defends to no end here -- even calling him the "hero" of the day.

There's more that Bill gets into here with us ... including the fact that he was actually at the same after-party that Will and co. eventually flocked to, and he's got some tea about how a prominent figure in the Black community analyzed Chris' reaction ... or lack thereof.

Jim Carrey is verbalizing what a lot of people have on their minds after Hollywood collectively gave Will Smith a standing ovation following his Chris Rock slap ... saying the whole thing was disgraceful.

The comedian and actor tore into everyone who got on their feet Sunday after Will won for Best Actor ... and after delivering a lengthy and emotional speech, which touched on both his work in "King Richard," but also seemed to address the slap moment just minutes earlier.

Check out Jim's take, he's got some pretty choice words while chatting with CBS's Gayle King -- calling the Academy/the attendees "spineless" ... and showing how stars often preach one thing but demonstrate another.

He doesn't finish there ... Jim says if he were in Chris' shoes, he'd sue Will.

JC went on to call the whole thing sickening and sad, especially since it overshadowed pretty much the entire ceremony and everyone else who went on to win that night. And, as many have since argued -- Will could've opted for any other way to express his objection to Chris' words ... but that he had no right to resort to violence.

Jim also pointed out that there seemed to be something deeper bothering Will -- beyond just the joke about his wife's hair loss -- and it would appear most agree with that as well ... in other words, this was about way more than just being offended over a tasteless crack.

As we've reported, Will finally apologized to Chris and to everyone else -- but he did it in a social media statement ... as of Monday, our sources said the two had not spoken personally.

Julian Edelman got in on the jokes after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars ... by using the viral moment to reference Tom Brady's fight with retirement -- and it's pretty good.

Edelman posted the hilarious meme on his Twitter page ... poking fun at the fact his good friend, Brady, was retired for just 40 days before deciding to rejoin the Buccaneers.

You can probably guess by now, but in the meme, Tom Brady's name is edited onto Smith ... and the word "retirement" is on Rock -- in other words, TB12 is slapping retirement in the face.

Brady, who played 22 seasons in the NFL, announced his retirement in early February but did a 180 nearly a month and a half later ... telling the world he was returning to play.

While Jules' joke is far from controversial, Rock's quip about Jada's hair has sparked debate on whether he was in the wrong.

As we reported, Rock claims to have not known about Jada's battle with alopecia ... and Smith has apologized for the slap.

The situation between Smith and Rock is far more complex, but Tom and Julian's relationship appears to be going strong as ever, despite the two no longer being teammates.

Will Smith is an adept face-slapper, even teaching youngsters the ropes on how to wind up and deliver.

TMZ has obtained footage shot back in November showing Will and his "King Richard" costar, Aunjanue Ellis, on a junket. There was a Q&A and a little guy named Chris -- yes, that wasn't lost on us -- asked how to fake fight in flicks.

Will decided to show Chris some movie moves, calling the kid up on stage and showing off his slapping skills. Of course, Will didn't strike this Chris ... rather, he repeatedly showed him how to make it appear that someone is slapped, narrowly missing each time.

We've seen Will before when he wasn't acting, and slapping seems to be his go-to when he's angry.

Back in 2012, Will was at the premiere of "Men in Black 3" in Moscow, when a prankster named Vitalii Sediuk tried to kiss Will on the lips. Will unloaded on him with a backhand slap ... not that he wasn't justified, but it shows slapping is in WS's wheelhouse.

Of course, everyone knows by now, Will unloaded on Chris Rock Sunday night. What's interesting ... you see Will walk up to the stage with clear intent, and it seems it was an intent to slap, because there were no hesitations in his moves.

As we reported, the LAPD beelined it for Chris Rock after the incident and asked if he wanted to file a police report, because it was an undeniable assault and battery. Chris declined, so that should be the end of it.

Jada Pinkett Smith's husband may have tried to avenge Chris Rock's jab about her hair, but Jada herself said she couldn't care less what people think about it ... just days before the Oscars.

The "Red Table Talk" host posted a TikTok video just 4 days before Sunday night's ceremony, and it was all about hair ...  "Being a Black woman and dealing with hair in Hollywood, in the era I came up in, having your hair look as European as possible was always the thing, and that was really challenging because I liked my hair out wild and curly."

Jada says ... "I feel the freedom today. I don't give two craps what people think of this bald head of mine. Because guess what? I love it."

So, now the question ... if that was Jada's mindset going into the Oscars, was Will's reaction really about hair, or was it about simmering anger toward Rock? As you know, during the 2016 Oscar ceremony, Chris took potshots at both Will and Jada ... trashing Will's movie, "Wild Wild West," and calling Jada irrelevant after she said she was boycotting the ceremony.

Sources connected to both Will and Chris tell TMZ, there was love lost between Chris and the Smiths, and when Will and Jada watched Chris they were braced for another shot.

Late-night talk hosts are sinking their teeth into Will Smith's slap heard-round-the-world, with some going harder than others ... and at least one didn't really bite at all.

Jimmy Fallon opted to tread very lightly, but Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel took much more direct approaches -- so, we'll start with them.

JK recapped the entire saga well... sprinkling in light jabs toward Will, like joking that while he hoped to be invited back, he also might be waiting for the Academy in the parking lot if he doesn't get the call.

Colbert was even harsher... taking a bunch of shots at Will and his movies (calling those flicks the worst thing he's ever done aside from this), and also criticizing Oscars producers for letting Will give a long acceptance speech without much consequence at all.

Seth Meyers didn't hit the subject himself, but instead, let one of his writers, comedian Amber Ruffin, do a bit in which she recounted the horror of watching it go down with flowery prose and poetic language.

Not nearly as funny as the first 2 guys, but an interesting way to dissect it.

James Corden, meanwhile, found a very creative way to analyze the whole thing ... invoking 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' -- the smash-hit Disney song from "Encanto" -- but applied it to Will/Jada.

It was pretty funny, and made for quite the musical number ... which is right in James' wheelhouse. Dude loves to sing and dance -- and he didn't miss the opportunity here.

Finally, there was Fallon ... who clearly did not want to get into it very much at all -- not even saying Will Smith or Chris Rock's name, but glossing over the moment almost entirely and pivoting to Russia news.

That might have to do with the fact that Jimmy is known to have a close relationship with Rock -- dating back to his 'SNL' days -- but as a late-night host, also wants to have Will on as a guest ... so it's possible he's opting to stay on the sidelines.

Most of the hosts said the obvious ... that violence is unacceptable, and considering the serious nature of the situation -- it's cool they found a way to break it down with some humor, which is what they're paid to do.

Will, meanwhile, has since apologized to Chris ... but CR himself has been mum following the whole thing.

The Academy is investigating -- although it's fairly clear what happened here -- and it remains to be seen what, if any, consequences Will may face.

Ricky Gervais couldn't stop himself from joining the Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscars drama, and seemingly backing Chris ... tweeting a clip from "The Office" that pokes fun at alopecia.

Gervais retweeted the clip Monday from his David Brent account -- his character on the OG British version of the show -- and it shows David trying to win over his employees by taking them out for drinks at lunchtime.

Ricky's full line in the scene shows him joking about Alcoholics Anonymous, saying "I know someone who is an alcoholic and it is no laughing matter - particularly for his wife. And, she's got alopecia. So ... not a happy home life."

Now, it's not like Ricky captioned it with anything about the Oscars, but it's clearly the only relevance ... coming the day after Rock dropped his "G.I. Jane 2" quip at Jada Pinkett Smith -- who as you know has alopecia -- and, thereby, triggering Will's now-infamous slap.

Jada had announced last year she shaved her head after being diagnosed with alopecia. As TMZ reported ... Rock did not know she has the condition.

It's interesting that Ricky's sounding off about the incident -- he's hosted the Golden Globes 5 times, and always roasted celebrities left and right ... yet no one ever laid a hand on him.