Will Packer, the producer of the telecast, said that Smith had been asked to leave after slapping Chris Rock, and then there were discussions of having him physically removed.
Pope Francis also promised to visit Canada as part of a process of healing and reconciliation over the church’s involvement in an abusive system of residential schools.
Francis met for the first time with groups of survivors of Canada’s abusive Indigenous schools who are seeking his apology over the church’s role in running the schools.