Will Smith's unexpected offer from the Academy

Does anyone remember who won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2022? Or the Director's Award? Surely everyone remembers Will Smith slapping Chris Rock...

No matter who, the 94th Oscars will always be remembered for a slap in the face that tarnished the gala and Will Smith's subsequent award.

In case anyone doesn't remember, Will Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for 'King Richard' minutes after slapping Chris Rock in front of millions of people around the world.

Time has passed and the conversation is still happening, as much or more than 'The Fresh Prince' did in the 90s. Although it seems that time is cooling the heat between Will Smith and the Academy.

So much so that Janet Yang, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been open to engraving Will Smith's name on the Best Actor Oscar statuette he took home.

Yes, one of the punishments the actor got for his attitude was to take home his statuette for Best Actor without his name embossed on the shiny figure.

It may seem a minor gesture but it is one that deeply upsets an Oscar winner because it delegitimizes the award. Of course, the Academy knows where to strike where it hurts the most.

In fact, after picking up the Oscar, Academy tradition dictates that the winners go through the so-called Governor's Ball, where the awards are engraved before they take it home.

In fact, Brad Pitt has a photo that is already legendary, waiting for his name to be put on the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'.

Will Smith did not appear at the Governor's Ball. The mood was not right to add fuel to the fire, despite the fact that in his winner's speech, he took the opportunity to offer an apology.

But, a year later, Janet Yang looks like she's going to cut Will Smith some slack. "“He earned the Oscar... He should have his name engraved on it" she has assured on 'The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter Podcast'.

However, it is one thing to have it engraved and quite another for Will Smith himself to go and do it personally.

"I don’t know if he should personally come. But yeah, we can arrange,” added Janet Yang, recalling another of the sanctions imposed on the actor for his slap: his inability to personally be at the Academy.

The sanctions against Will Smith included a ban on attending any event organized by the Academy for the next 10 years, that is, until 2032.

Obviously, Will Smith was not present at the Oscars 2023. It all seems rather unlikely that he would be the one to take in his statuette.

Of course, the whole incident is no way near to being forgotten, with Jimmy Kimmel making a jibe at the Oscar-winner and Chris Rock himself recalling the incident in his new comedy special, 'Chris Rock: Selective Outrage'. It was a moment of Oscar history.