Oscar winner Will Smith has formally apologized to Chris Rock for slapping him onstage at the Oscars last night after the comedian made a joke about the actor’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith and her shaved head.
“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I react emotionally,” said Smith. Pinkett Smith has alopecia and has been public about it, talking on TikTok about her struggles, exclaiming, “I don’t give two craps what people feel about this bald head of mine.” In addition, Smith apologized to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Oscar show producers and the Williams family.
The Oscar winner has just posted the following on his Instagram:
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SAG-AFTRA Condemns Will Smith's "Unacceptable" Oscar Slap On Chris Rock
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A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith)
While less than 24 hours after the assault seen by millions occurred, the apology from the King Richard star comes as the backlash against Smith’s violent actions intensified. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced earlier today that they had opened a formal review and investigation into the incident. While there is no chance Smith could lose his Oscar, a full-on Board of Governors meeting scheduled for May 30 will surely see a lot of questions asked about why the actor was not removed from his front row seat at the Dolby Theater after striking Rock.
Discussions among the slow to response producers and organizers saw the backstage debate continuing about what to do become moot when 40 minutes after slapping Rock, Smith was up on stage against accepting his Best Actor Award. In an emotional but often self-justifying speech, a tearful Smith made a point of apologizing to almost everyone but Rock.
Getting in trouble with AMPAS couldn’t come at a worst time as Smith’s star was rising with franchise movies like Aladdin, which became his highest grossing movie pre-pandemic with $1.05 billion, and Sony’s Bad Boys for Life just before Covid hit, which grossed over $426M WW. With Apple taking home Best Picture this year for CODA, no doubt that the streamer will be back in future Oscar races. One particular potential awards bait title for Apple is Emancipation, the Antoine Fuqua directed package with Smith that Apple shelled out $120M for, as Deadline first reported. The movie follows Smith as a runaway slave forced to outwit cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on a tortuous journey North where he joins the Union Army. Any dinging of Smith by AMPAS would create headwinds for what is expected to be a prestigious, and respectable feature.
SAG-AFTRA, which bestowed the Best Actor Feature Film award to Smith as well for King Richard, also issued a statement saying, “Violence or physical abuse in the workplace is never appropriate and the union condemns any such conduct. The incident involving Will Smith and Chris Rock at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable.”
In the wake of the incident, comedians have rallied around Rock on social media. Kathy Griffin who was among the first to speak out strongly, expressed a future concern which many stand-ups echoed:
“Let me tell you something,” Griffin tweeted, “it’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a Comedian. Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”
Often known as one of Tinseltown’s most affable superstars, the former Fresh Prince’s online mea culpa will likely end any speculation that Rock could still file a police report. Rock was contacted by LAPD officers on the scene at the Hollywood and Highland venue last night soon after the altercation with Smith occurred. He declined at the time to file a report. However, the Fargo star does have up to six months to change his mind.
In California, an assault like what Smith battered Rock with is considered a misdemeanor that’s punishable by up to six months in jail and a $100,000 fine. Looking to avoid censure or suspension from AMPAS out of their probe, even the faint possibility of such a punishment through the courts isn’t something the usually strategic Smith wants to give much oxygen to.
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