This just got a whole lot messier.
On Wednesday evening, The Academy released a statement saying, among other things, that they had told Will Smith he had to leave, and he refused.
However, TMZ is reporting today that "according to sources with direct knowledge who were present", that Will Smith was never asked to leave the show after he slapped Chris Rock. They add that, in fact, he was told by the producer of the show that he could stay.
The report goes on to say that after the slap, there were various conversations going on, including with Will's reps and Academy officials back stage about what had gone down. Some Academy officials had wanted him removed, while other's didn't. Through different commercial breaks, they never reached a consensus.
TMZ adds that their sources say that during one of the commercial breaks, Oscars producer Will Packer walked up to Will and said, "We do not want you to leave." The source says that that was about 8pm, 35 minutes after the slap, but about 5 minutes before Will won his award.
The story continues, and we'll keep you updated.