Jim Carrey did attend the César Awards organisers have confirmed, after a conspiracy theory erupted online about his attendance at the event.
Carrey attended the César Awards in Paris on February 26 to receive the honorary award, which celebrated his iconic roles in films like The Truman Show and The Mask. Carrey follows on from Julia Roberts, who was the recipient of the award last year.
Carrey attended the ceremony and made a speech at the event, surrounded by his family. However, soon after, conspiracy theories started swirling on the Internet, alleging that it was not in fact Carey at the event at all.
Make up artist Alexis Stone, who is known for celebrity transformations, posted on Instagram after the event, saying that they had attended the event impersonating Carey, which is where some of the theories came from.
However, the general delegate of the Cesar Awards, Gregory Caulier, told Variety the actor’s rare appearance at the ceremony was in fact real and “a historic moment.”
Caulier called the rumours online a “non-issue” saying: “Jim Carrey’s visit has been planned since this summer. 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 continued: “He came with his partner, his daughter, his grandson and 12 close friends and family members. His longtime publicist accompanied him. His old friend Michel Gondry, who has made a film and two series with him, was there, and they were delighted to see each other again.
“For me, it’s a non-issue. I just remember his generosity, his kindness, his benevolence, his elegance.”
In his speech, delivered in French, Carrey spoke about his ancestral roots in France, saying: “about 300 years ago, my great, great, great, great, great, great-grandfather, Marc-François Carré [was] born in France, in Saint Malo.” In the speech he also paid an emotive tribute to his father who he said “taught me the value of love, generosity and laughter.”
In other news, Carrey recently sat down Vulture for a 25th anniversary retrospective on the making of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Ron Howard’s 2000 film adaptation of Dr Seuss’s 1957 children’s book.
The movie was a massive box office hit, earning $346 million worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing film of 2000 domestically. However, during the interview, it was revealed in December that a man with military training in “enduring torture” was hired to help Carrey on set of The Grinch after the lengthy make-up and costume transformation caused him to suffer from panic attacks.