Will Smith’s talent agency have denied they were thinking of giving him the boot after he slapped Chris Rock at this year’s Oscars ceremony.
Executives at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) were reportedly considering dumping the 53-year-old actor following his violent outburst on live TV.
The incident was said to have caused a “furious debate” at an industry retreat which saw around 100 agents and talent execs gather in California last week.
CAA have previously been associated with disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein, who is currently serving 23 years in prison for sex attacks on women.
The alleged fallout came as the agency sought to distance themselves from any more negative connections.
But despite reports two top execs at CAA were at war over Will’s future, the agency has denied any divisions within their ranks.
“There’s no truth to any of it. Simply never happened,” a spokesman for CAA said.
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Just before winning his Best Actor Oscar for film King Richard, Will leapt on to the stage and attacked host Chris after he made a joke about his wife’s hair loss.
The comic compared Jada Pinkett Smith to GI Jane, but it’s since been said he had no idea she was actually suffering from alopecia.
At first viewers and the audience thought it was part of the show, but the atmosphere turned sour when Will began yelling at Chris.
“Keep my wife’s f***ing name out of your mouth,” he told a shocked Chris, who did well to carry on presenting the awards.
“Wow, Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me,” Chris joked, adding: “That was the greatest night in the history of television."
Later in the night, Will went on to win his first Oscar for his performance in King Richard, playing tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams’ father.
He apologised on stage and again the next day admitting he was “out of line”.
Personally addressing Chris, the father-of-three said: “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable.
“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
He added: “I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world.”
Following his outburst, Will has resigned from Hollywood's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Filming for his upcoming films Bad Boys 4 and Fast and Loose have reportedly been put on hold.
Over the weekend it was revealed Netflix and Apple+ had also pulled out of a bidding war to make a film based on the Hollywood star’s best-selling autobiography, Will.
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