LOS ANGELES, March 29 (US): The day after Chris Rock was slapped on the stage of the Academy Awards and made a difference at the 94th Academy Awards, Will Smith issued an apology to the comedian, the Academy, and viewers at home, saying he was “outside of the box.” line” and that his actions “are not indicative of the man I want to be.”
The fallout from Smith’s actions during Sunday’s party continued on Monday as Hollywood and the public continued to grapple with a moment that stunned Dolby Theater audiences and viewers at home, according to the Associated Press.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has condemned Strike Rock Smith, who mocked his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and said it would open an investigation.
Later in the day, Smith delivered a stronger apology than he did in his Best Actor acceptance speech, which didn’t specifically include an apology to Rock.
“Violence in all its forms is toxic and destructive,” Smith said in a statement issued by his media agent and posted on Instagram. “My behavior at the Oscars last night was unacceptable and unforgivable. The jokes on my account are part of the job, but joking about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and an emotional reaction to. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line. And I was wrong. I feel embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I wanted to be. There is no place for violence in the world of love and kindness.”
The 53-year-old actor has offered an apology to the Film Academy, broadcast television producers, attendees, viewers and the Williams family. Smith was honored Sunday for his role as Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, in “King Richard.”
“I’m a work in progress,” Smith added.
After calling the board of governors to meet on Monday to discuss the incident, the film academy said it was reviewing Smith’s actions and “will explore further actions and consequences in accordance with our regulations, standards of conduct and California law.” The Los Angeles Police Department said on Sunday it was aware of the incident but did not pursue an investigation because the person involved refused to file a police report.
Smith shocked Dolby Theater audiences and home viewers when he took the stage after Rock, appearing as a presenter, jokingly said, “Jada, I love you.” GI Jane 2 “I can’t wait to see her.”
The joke affected the nerve. Pinkett Smith, who has shaved her head, has spoken publicly about her alopecia areata diagnosis. Smith walked onto the stage and slapped Rock in the face. Returning to his seat, Smith shouted twice for Rock to “get my wife’s name out of your mouth (expletive).”
His words reverberated clearly throughout Dolby, although the ABC announcer cut out the audio for about 15 seconds. Within an hour, Smith won Best Actor, and received a standing ovation. During his five-minute acceptance speech, Smith spoke about defending his family. He also apologized to the Academy.
Rock’s joke was not part of his routine during rehearsals leading up to the show, according to two sources close to the production who were not authorized to speak publicly.
But Rock has joked about Pinkett Smith before. He hosted the 2016 Academy Awards, when some boycotted the ceremony over the #OscarsSoWhite group of nominees, including the Smith family. Said Rock So: “Jada’s boycott of the Oscars is like me interrupting Rihanna’s pants. I wasn’t invited.”
Smith’s actions were shaken at the Oscars. Up until that point, producer Will Packer had run a structured, light-hearted television broadcast that the Academy had hoped to get the Oscars back after last year’s low ratings. Sunday’s show reached an estimated 15.36 million viewers, according to Nielsen’s preliminary numbers on Monday. While it’s a marked improvement over last year’s 9.85 million views, it’s still the second least watched Academy Awards.
Some members of the Academy, such as writer and producer Marshall Herskovitz, have called on the Academy to take disciplinary action against Smith.
“Our entire community has been shamed tonight,” Herskovitz wrote on Twitter.
“We’re not going to take an Oscar from him. There will be consequences, I’m sure,” Whoopi Goldberg, a member of the Academy’s Board of Regents, said Monday in “The View.”
It also affected the Screen Actors Guild. The Film, Television and Radio Syndicate described the incident as “unacceptable”. SAG said it has been in contact with the academy and ABC, and does not comment on the union’s disciplinary process.
A sense of disbelief hung in the air at the Dolby Theater after Smith’s assault. Not only was it a break with tact on National Live TV – an incident so dramatic, even movie-like, that many initially assumed it was part of a play – it seemed out of character for one of Hollywood’s most relentlessly optimistic stars. It came less than an hour before Smith reached the peak of his career, winning his first Academy Award for Best Actor.
“In a way, I feel bad for Will Smith too, because I think he let his emotions get over him, and this should have been one of the great nights of his life,” former Oscar presenter Jimmy Kimmel said on the Bill Simmons podcast. “And now it’s not. Was there anyone in the world who didn’t like Will Smith an hour ago? Like nobody, right? Now he doesn’t have a single comedian friend – that’s for sure.”
Some questioned whether Smith should be allowed to continue sitting front and center after slapping Rock. Several stars rushed to advise and comfort Smith, including Denzel Washington, Bradley Cooper and Tyler Perry. But the timing was so awkward because the Best Actor category was due soon after, and Smith was long considered an award lock.
“I know we are all still dealing with it, but the way in which the occasional violence tonight was normalized by a collective national audience will have consequences that we cannot even comprehend at the moment,” wrote Janay Nelson, president and director of the NAACP. Legal Defense Fund on Twitter.
The drama overshadowed some of the historic wins at the Oscars. Deaf family drama “CODA” became the first film with a largely deaf cast to win Best Picture. For the first time, its streaming service, Apple TV+, has taken the top spot in Hollywood, signaling a profound transformation in Hollywood and in movie watching. Ariana Deboss for West Side Story, Troy Kotsur from “CODA” and Jane Campion, director of The Power of the Dog, all made history.
Others defended Smith, including Tiffany Haddish, who co-starred with Pinkett Smith in Girls Trip.
“Maybe the world may not like how it went, but to me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there who love and care for their women and their wives,” Hadash told People magazine.
After the show, Smith posed for photographs with his family outside a Vanity Fair party. Inside, cell phone videos filmed him dancing to “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” while holding an Oscar. Their son Jaden tweeted, “And that’s how we do it.” On Instagram, Smith posted: “I’m Jada Pinkett Smith wearing everything to pick a mess.”