Will Smith Makes A Public Apology To Chris Rock, Academy Announces Formal Review
Actor Will Smith after Oscars night took to his Instagram account to issue a public apology for smacking comedian Chris Rock on stage during the ceremony.
Actor
Will
Smith
after
Oscars
night
took
to
his
Instagram
account
to
issue
a
public
apology
for
smacking
comedian
Chris
Rock
on
stage
during
the
ceremony.
Notably,
The
Academy
has
also
said
it
has
launched
a
formal
review
of
the
incident.
Smith,
before
being
named
best
leading
actor
of
the
year,
marched
onto
the
stage
after
Chris
made
a
joke
at
the
expense
of
Jada
Pinkett's
hair
and
slapped
him.
In
his
public
apology,
Will
said,
"I
would
like
to
publicly
apologize
to
you,
Chris.
I
was
out
of
line
and
I
was
wrong.
I
am
embarrassed
and
my
actions
were
not
indicative
of
the
man
I
want
to
be."
He
added
that
violence
in
all
of
its
forms
is
poisonous
and
destructive.
"My
behaviour
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."
On
the
other
hand,
The
comedian
refused
to
file
charges
against
the
actor
with
LAPD,
however,
The
Academy
of
Motion
Picture
Arts
and
Sciences
has
revealed
that
they
have
launched
a
formal
review
into
the
incident.
The
Academy
initially
took
to
its
Twitter
account
and
said,
it
condemned
violence
without
mentioning
Smith's
name,
but
now,
it
is
expressing
its
displeasure
over
the
incident
more
openly.
A
spokesperson
for
the
organization
was
quoted
by
Variety
as
saying,
"The
Academy
condemns
the
actions
of
Mr.
Smith
at
last
night's
show.
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."
Notably,
Will
Smith
won
the
Best
Leading
Actor
award
at
the
Oscars
ceremony
for
his
performance
in
King
Richard
as
Richard
Williams,
father
of
Venus
and
Serena
Williams.