Los Angeles: Will Smith has apologised to Chris Rock for slapping him onstage during the Oscars ceremony on Sunday and said his act was ‘wrong’.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong,” Smith said in a statement. “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.
“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,” the Hollywood superstar said.
Will Smith, who picked up his much deserved Best Actor Oscar, is right now the talk of the showbiz world after slapping Chris Rock on the Academy Awards stage, leaving spectators shocked after the comedian cracked a joke on the former’s wife-actor Jada Pinkett-Smith.
Chris Rock, however, laughed off the incident and continued in his role as a presenter for the Best Documentary award.
The comedian has even refused to file a legal complaint against Smith, the Los Angeles Police Department has said.
Rock cracked a joke on Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith by comparing her tightly cropped hair to Demi Moore’s appearance in the film GI Jane.
Jada has openly talked about her autoimmune disorder that resulted in alopecia and, hence, the joke did go down well with Smith, who went up to the stage and punched Rock, leaving everybody in attendance shocked.
“Keep my wife’s name out of your f*g mouth,” Smith shouted at Rock after returning to his seat.
After receiving the jab from the actor, Rock said, “Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me.”
Chris Rock refuses to file complaint against Will Smith after assault
While social media is divided about whether Smith has been correct or not, the Los Angeles Police has confirmed that Chris had declined to file a police report.
“APD 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,” the LAPD statement read.
In his acceptance speech, Smith, without referring to Rock directly, said with teary eyes, ” I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me. It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people.”
“Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. Love will make you do crazy things,” he added.
Also read: Will Smith slaps Chris Rock on stage, apologizes to Academy after best actor win
India Blooms News Service
