Photo: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images
Jim Carrey remains Jim Carrey. The comedian and actor received the honorary César Award at the French Oscars equivalent on February 26, but rumors have since swirled that the man onstage wasn’t Jim Carrey. Now the general delegate of the César Awards, Gregory Caulier, is confirming that the real Jim Carrey was at the ceremony.
“Jim Carrey’s visit has been planned since this summer,” Caulier said to Variety on March 2. “From the outset, he was extremely touched by the Academy’s invitation. Eight months of ongoing, constructive discussions. He worked on his speech in French for months, asking me about the exact pronunciation of certain words.” He also responded directly to the “controversy,” saying, “For me, it’s a nonissue. I just remember his generosity, his kindness, his benevolence, his elegance.”
Carrey accepted the award with a sentimental speech delivered in French. “As an actor, each character you play is like clay in the sculptor’s hands, which you shape to your heart’s desire,” he said, after being introduced by his Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry. “How fortunate I have been to share this art with so many people who have truly opened their hearts to me.”
The issue of impersonation originated largely because of Carrey’s reclusiveness, which means that the public hasn’t seen what he looks like as he’s aged. (The last time he was seen publicly was in November, at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.) Additionally, drag artist Alexis Stone made a post where she used prosthetics to make herself look like Carrey and pretended that it was her at the awards, captioning it, “Alexis Stone as Jim Carrey in Paris.” That post fooled a lot of people, including Megan Fox, who commented, “i can’t handle any more stress right now i need to know if this is real.” No, Megan Fox — a drag queen did not attend the César Awards as Jim Carrey and give an acceptance speech in French.
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