Photo: Rich Polk/Variety via Getty, Nicky J Sims/Getty
Halle Berryis passing on the torch at theOscars 2023.
TheBruiseddirector and star, 56, — who previouslywon Best Actressfor her role in 2001’sMonster’s Ball— took the stage at Sunday’s 95th Academy Awards alongsideJessica Chastainto present the same trophy toMichelle Yeohfor her role inEverything Everywhere All at Once.
Smith, 54,resigned from the Academyof Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — which alsobanned him from attending its events for 10 years— after he infamously struckChris Rockin the face onstage, after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife,Jada Pinkett Smith.
Berry made no mention of Smith, nor the controversy surrounding last year’s Oscars ceremony, as she presented the award to Yeoh on Sunday.
Chris Rock; Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; David Livingston/Getty
The ceremony comes just over a week after Rock, 58,addressed the assaultin his liveNetflixcomedy specialChris Rock: Selective Outrage, peppering it with scathing jokes about the Smiths and their marriage.
“Hesaid what he needed to sayand doesn’t give a s— about the reaction either way. He isn’t worried,” a source told PEOPLE of the comedian. “For the most part, I think it was well received. People don’t expect sugarcoating from Chris Rock.”
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Among those who criticized Rock’s remarks specifically about Jada, 51, is#OscarsSoWhitecreatorApril Reign. She shared a clip from the special and tweeted that Rock never said Jada’s name directly — referring to Smith telling Rock to “keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth” atthe Oscarslast year.
“Buthe did call her a b*tch, and that seems just as bad, if not worse. TO ME,” said Reign.
Reign also addressed the location of Rock’s show, alleging in a separate tweet, “He knew what he was doing. It wasn’t weird, but intentional. Chris could’ve picked (and sold out) any city in America. Hewanted to be in Jada’s hometown.”
RELATED VIDEO: Jada Pinkett Smith “Had No Part” in Chris Rock andWill Smith’s Drama, Says Source
As for Berry, her 2002 Oscar win saw her victorious in a Best Actress category that also includedNicole Kidman(Moulin Rouge),Judi Dench(Iris),Sissy Spacek(In the Bedroom) andRenée Zellweger(Bridget Jones’s Diary).
Before Berry handed Yeoh the trophy on Sunday, theMonster’s Ballstar was only woman of color to win Best Actress in the history of the awards show. In March 2022, Berry opened up toThe New York Timesabout her disappointment in how, after two decades, no other Black actress had received the title.
“Back in those days, if you didn’t win the Globe, you really didn’t get the Academy Award,” Berry said, referring to theGolden Globethat went to Spacek, 73. “So I’d pretty much resigned myself to believing, ‘It’s great to be here, but I’m not going to win.’ "
But even though she did go on to clinch the prize, the actresscontinued, “It didn’t open the door. The fact that there’s no one standing next to me is heartbreaking.”
The Oscarsare airing live on ABC on Sunday, March 12, at 8 p.m. ET.
source: people.com
