Here's What Will Smith Was Doing During the 2023 Oscars After Being Banned for Chris Rock Slap

The actor was banned from the Oscars after slapping Chris Rock across the face during last year's ceremony.

Will Smith was keeping a low profile while the 95th Academy Awards were taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Not too far away from the event in San Dimas, California, the 54-year-old actor was seen driving a car around 4 p.m. PT.

The sighting comes about a year after Smith made headlines for slapping Chris Rock across the face during the 2022 Oscars in reaction to the comedian making a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. While Smith did end up winning Best Actor that same night for his role in King Richard, the Academy later announced that he would be banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years

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As tradition would have it, the Best Actor and Actress categories are usually presented by the people who won the year prior. However, given Smith's ban from the Oscars, Halle Berry joined Jessica Chastain, who won last year for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, to present The Whale's Brendan Fraser and Everything Everywhere All at Once's Michelle Yeoh with the accolades this year.

Though Smith and Rock were both absent from this year's Academy Awards, the show's host, Jimmy Kimmel, did address the shocking incident in his opening monologue. 

"We want you to have fun, feel safe, and most importantly, we want me to feel safe," he said. "So, we have strict policies in place. If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for Best Actor and permitted to give a 19-minute long speech."

Kimmel added, "But seriously, the Academy has a crisis team in place. If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year -- nothing. Sit there, and do absolutely nothing."

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