WILL Smith has finally apologized after HITTING Chris Rock on stage for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith during the Oscars.
Will Smith made a public apology to Chris Rock on Monday night, calling his own behavior at the Academy Awards “unacceptable and inexcusable.”
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive.
“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 reacted emotionally.”
Smith’s first Oscar win was shrouded in controversy after the actor tearfully apologized on stage following the incident with comedian Rock in which he appeared to hit him during the live awards ceremony.
Philadelphia-born Smith, 53, appeared to take offense to a gag Rock made on stage about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss, resulting in him marching on stage to confront the comedian.
He appeared to hit Rock before returning to his seat and shouting from the audience to Rock on stage.
The 94th Academy Awards featured a moment of silence for the suffering people of Ukraine on the 34th day of the Russian invasion.
The biggest night in Hollywood is live now with hosts Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, and Amy Schumer.
Beyoncé kicked off the night with a live performance of her song Be Alive, which has been nominated for Best Original Song for its feature in the movie King Richard.
DJ Khalid jokingly interrupted the hosts as the trio joked about being a woman in Hollywood and roasted ceremony guests like Samuel L. Jackson, Jane Campion, and Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has won multiple awards already, while Ariana DeBose took home the award for Best Supporting Actress in a historic victory as the first openly queer woman of color to win that award.
The night kicked off with stars like Vanessa Hudgens and Lily James walking the red carpet as anticipation built for the ceremony.
Kourtney Kardashian shared a behind-the-scenes look at her preparation for the Oscars, where her fiance Travis Barker will be performing.
The couple showed major PDA on the red carpet while Kourtney, 42, wore a tight black dress and the Blink-182 drummer kept it cool in an all-black suit.
Read our Oscars 2022 live blog for the latest news and updates…
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Smiths speak out
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith will reportedly tell all about Will slapping Chris Rock at Sunday’s Oscars as early as sometime this week.
The discussion will occur on Jada’s Facebook Watch show called Red Table Talk.
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Nicki’s thoughts, continued
Nicki Minaj went on to say that Will Smith’s aggressive reaction to Chris Rock’s statement showed that protective and comforting husbands still exist today.
“You just got to witness in real time what happens in a man’s soul when he looks over to the woman he loves & sees her holding back tears from a ‘little joke’ at her expense.”
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Nicki’s thoughts
Rapper Nicki Minaj tweeted that she loves Chris Rock and she doesn’t think that he would have made the poorly-received joke if he had known Jada’s heartbreaking story of Alopecia.
But between Chris and his team, Nicki said that it was shocking that no one had heard of Jada’s Alopecia before they made the joke.
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Whoopi Goldberg reacts
The host of The View told her co-hosts Monday that she thinks that Smith “overreacted,” but that the assault was probably the result of many years of disagreements.
“I get it, not everybody acts the way we would like them to act under pressure. And he snapped,” she said.
“Sometimes you get to a point when you behave badly. I myself have behaved badly on occasion.”
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Fashion Nova’s sale
Some brands have wasted no time capitalizing on the viral moment between the two comedians.
Fashion Nova’s latest sale seemed to reference the assault, with a push notification from the company saying that they “SLAPPED” 40% off of prices.
“It’s time to ROCK New Spring Looks.”
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Crazy love
In Will Smith’s acceptance speech for Best Actor following the onstage incident, he apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees for his aggression.
“Love will make you do crazy things,” he said.
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‘I am a work in progress’
Will Smith continued on Instagram: “I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world.
“I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family.
“I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.”
He ended the post by admitting that he is a work in progress, and signing his name.
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Will’s statement, continued
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong,” Will said on Instagram.
“I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be.
“There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
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Will’s official statement
Will Smith made a public apology to Chris Rock on Monday night.
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive.
“My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable.
“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 reacted emotionally.”
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Formal review
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched a formal review of Will Smith’s assault on Chris Rock at Sunday’s ceremony.
“We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law,” a spokesperson from the organization told Variety.
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Jordan Rock’s reaction
Chris Rock’s younger brother Jordan Rock wrote on Instagram that “It’s on sight for Will Smith now.”
As a comedian himself, he even threw in a joke about the shocking hit — saying that punching his brother wasn’t Smith’s only offense.
“For punching Chrissy & remaking Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
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Chris Rock didn’t know Jada has alopecia
A source told TMZ that Chris Rock had no idea Jada Pinkett Smith has alopecia and that he “doesn’t have a mean bone in his body” after Will Smith smacked Rock on the Oscars stage when the comedian made a joke about Jada.
Chris’ joke that led to the smack was directed at Jada’s shaved head.
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Smith and Rock haven’t spoken
Chris Rock and Will Smith reportedly haven’t spoken since the incident at the Oscars on Sunday night, TMZ reports, citing a source.
The insider claims Rock went right to his dressing room after the slap and there has been no communication between the two men since.
The source told the outlet Rock was left “shaken and bewildered” by Smith, but he still went to Guy Oseary’s Oscars After Party following the altercation.
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Academy could sue Smith
Chris Rock or the Academy Awards could each potentially sue Will Smith in civil court, where the burden of proof is much lower than criminal court, both law experts told The Sun.
The Sun asked his publicist for comment if he will be pursuing criminal or civil cases. Rock has said he wouldn’t sue in public statements, which would mean there’s no case.
But the Academy Awards could sue Smith and claim he damaged its product.
“The academy doesn’t have a criminal case against Will Smith,” Sacks said. “But the academy can sue him in civil court. He did damage to their production. He hurt the value of their show. He caused violence. But you would have to prove damages.”
“It would have to be a financial loss. He diminished their product by his behavior. Other celebrities may be nervous to go next year because of lack of security. But they would likely ban him over suing in civil court.”
Tenzer said she thinks the Academy Awards’s civil case would be “weak.”
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Smith could face jail time or probation, part three
Beverly Hills attorney Adam Michael Sacks said the police and prosecutors could potentially still move forward with criminal charges against Will Smith without Chris Rock’s participation, but agreed with Tenzer and said it’s unlikely.
“I would imagine (Chris Rock) will let it slide,” Sacks said.
“If he wanted, he could. It’s assault and battery. It’s going to be hard to argue against it because it’s on video and a lot of witnesses.”
“That’s a serious crime. That’s a good year in jail. His past arrest was a long time ago. More than 10 years, so it wouldn’t be a big consideration. He would likely get probation.”
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Smith could face jail time or probation, continued
“The fact is that he hit all elements under under the penal code,” Tenzer added.
“He applied force, he did it willfully and he chose to do it, and defending his wife from a joke is not justification under the law.”
“Clearly, he committed a crime, but prosecutors won’t go ahead with charges without a claimant, in this case Chris Rock, because there would be no one to testify.”
“That’s a problem many times in rape and abuse cases. if the claimant doesn’t want to testify or press charges, prosecutors have no case.”
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Smith could face jail time or probation, experts claim
Although law professor Leslie Y Garfield Tenzer told The Sun she believes nothing being done about the altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars is the most likely outcome because Rock has — so far — said he won’t press charges, Smith does face some possible other repercussions.
Tenzer, who teaches at New York’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, said a criminal case and civil lawsuit hinges on the comedian’s participation.
“What Will Smith did meets every requirement of criminal assault under California’s penal code,” Tenzer said.
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Is Chris Rock pressing charges against Will Smith?
Rock was allegedly smacked after making a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, 50, and her hair-loss condition during the Oscars award ceremony.
LAPD confirmed that Rock is not pressing charges against Smith over the on-stage altercation.
A statement by the police department said: “LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program.”
“The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report.”
“If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”
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Will Smith, Tyler Perry, and Denzel Washington
A video is making the rounds on Twitter showing Tyler Perry and Denzel Washington speaking to Will Smith after the incident between Smith and Chris Rock.
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Denzel Washington seen speaking to Smith
As the ceremony went to a commercial break after the confrontation between Chris Rock and Will Smith, Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry were seen pulling Will aside for a pep talk.
Insiders claimed Denzel told Will off for hitting Chris and videos from inside the room show the trio huddled together during the break.
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Full crisis mode, continued
“Once the ceremony was over they called in key members to hold an emergency meeting about what action they should take,” that source continued.
“There have been calls to have Will stripped of his Best Actor gong. They cannot be seen to be condoning violence in any way and there are some people in the Academy who believe they should remove the award from him to make a point.”
“Others however believe he should be allowed to hold onto it,” the insider added.
“Chris was immediately supported backstage and has been offered a package of after care where he can talk to professionals provided by the academy if needed.”
“The Academy are taking this incredibly seriously.”
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Full crisis mode
Oscars bosses held top-secret emergency talks over whether to strip Will Smith of his Best Actor, according to inside sources.
Insiders said angered members of the Academy joined the meeting by Zoom, where they demanded the Men In Black star also be kicked out of the organization.
Insiders said that along with holding the crisis talks, Chris – who has since declined to press charges against Will – has been offered an “after care package” to cope with the incident.
A source said: “The Academy publicly condemned Will slapping Chris and behind the scenes they went into full crisis mode.”
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Body language expert weighs in, continued
James also claimed that Smith had a “smug” smile when returning to his seat after smacking the comic.
James said that the Men in Black star swore with “true anger” in his voice during the incident.
“Someone who works for the Oscars told me that Chris Rock was not interrupted by Will Smith at rehearsals yesterday. It was not supposed to happen,” another source revealed.
“It was real.”
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Body language expert weighs in
Comedian Chris Rock didn’t expect to be hit by Will Smith at the Oscars. a body language expert says.
Body language expert Judi James told The Sun that Smith’s initial response was a “subdued performed laughter” while Jada’s torso “stiffened” and her smile “froze.”
The body language expert said the comic didn’t expect to be hit.
She said: “His hands were clasped behind his back and he was laughing right up until the blow landed.”
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‘It was real’
“Someone who works for the Oscars told me that Chris Rock was not interrupted by Will Smith at rehearsals yesterday. It was not supposed to happen,” a source revealed after the altercation between Rock and Smith.
“It was real.”