Whoopi Goldberg reveals what she thinks happened with Will Smith in the moments after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars — and defended the “stunned” audience for giving him a standing ovation later in the show.
There’s been a discrepancy as to whether or not Smith was asked to leave after striking Rock during Sunday’s show. The King Richard actor obviously didn’t and went on to collect the Best Actor award — which is when he got the standing ovation.
The Academy said Wednesday that Smith was asked to leave, but refused. That led to questions about how hard producers tried to make that happen — and why he wasn’t told to leave. Then on Thursday, both Variety and TMZ, citing unnamed sources present at the show with direct knowledge of how it played out, refuted that Smith was asked to leave. Will Packer, who produced the Oscars, actually told him not to go, TMZ reported.
