Janet Yang, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, stated on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast that although Will Smith is prohibited from attending the Oscars or any Academy events for nine more years, he is welcome to have his nameplate engraved onto his Best Actor trophy.
According to Yang, “He earned the Oscar. He should have his name engraved on it.” Yang went on to say that the Academy can arrange for his name to be engraved, even if Smith himself is not present.
Typically, Academy Award winners receive a blank Oscar when they receive their award and have it engraved at the Governor’s Ball party, which occurs right after the ceremony.
Smith, however, did not attend last year’s event. Although he did sing along to his own songs at the Vanity Fair afterparty, with his award in hand.
In response to a TikTok trend urging people to ask inanimate objects what they think of them, Smith posted a video last month showing off his unengraved award, but he cut the clip before making the query to the golden statue.
Smith’s Best Actor win occurred during the 2022 awards ceremony, which was also notable for the actor slapping Chris Rock.
Yang suggested on the podcast that Smith should not attend the Academy Awards or any related events, but his name should be engraved onto his Oscar, whether or not he is personally present.
During the 2023 Oscars ceremony, host Jimmy Kimmel referred to the “slap heard around the world” and joked that the Academy had a crisis team in place in case of any unpredictable or violent incidents.
He also advised that anyone who became angry at a joke should refrain from acting out and instead embrace the person who told it.
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