After Hollywood star Will Smith (53) slapped comedian Chris Rock (57) on the stage of the Oscar gala, the organizers are examining possible consequences.
“The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at yesterday’s show,” says a statement from the organizers, which was available to the German Press Agency. “We have officially started a formal investigation into the incident and will be reviewing further proceedings and consequences.”
Meanwhile, Smith apologized via Instagram – to Rock, the organizers of the Oscars, the viewers and everyone involved in the film “King Richard”. The incident is embarrassing for him. “My conduct at the Academy Awards yesterday was unacceptable and inexcusable,” Smith wrote. “Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s health was too much for me to take and I reacted emotionally.”
Losing the Oscar unlikely
It was initially unclear what consequences Smith could face. In the US media, for example, there was speculation about being excluded from the Oscar academy, but it was considered unlikely that his Oscar would be revoked. On the other hand, the actor does not initially face any consequences from the police. Comedian Rock did not want to file a complaint, at least for the time being, the TV station CNN quoted the police in Los Angeles as saying.
Rock made a gag about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett at Sunday night’s show in Los Angeles, prompting Smith to surprisingly rush onto the stage and slap the comedian. After that, he returned to his seat and shouted twice more in Rock’s direction: “Keep my wife’s name out of your damn mouth!” The organizers then briefly announced via Twitter that they would not tolerate “any form of violence”.
Rock had previously reached out to Jada Pinkett Smith: “GI Jane 2 – I can’t wait to see this.” – a reference to the movie “GI Jane” in which Demi Moore shaves her head as a soldier. Jada Pinkett Smith rolled her eyes at the joke. She has often spoken openly about her hair loss caused by illness.
Smith: “Love makes you do crazy things”
Smith went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in King Richard. In his acceptance speech he seemed to want to justify the scandal. “Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” he said. Smith plays the father of legendary tennis players Venus and Serena Williams in the film. Through hard training and perseverance, he enabled his daughters to pursue sports careers.
Smith, 53, said through tears that he wanted to apologize to the film academy and the other nominees. “Art imitates life and I seem like the crazy father (…) but love makes you do crazy things.” He hopes that the film academy will invite him back.
The incident was hotly debated on social media. The dancer and juror Motsi Mabuse, known from the RTL show “Let’s Dance”, described him as a “shame”. “To see Chris Rock make that joke, knowing that this is one of the most prestigious events around and he’s putting a black woman down instead of raising her in front of her peers, that’s the kind of abuse we need to talk about,” wrote Mabuse (40) on Instagram. She called Smith’s reaction “disappointing” and “shameful”. (dpa)