Will Smith Publicly Apologizes for Slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars: ‘I Am a Work in Progress’
Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images.
Will Smith has apologized to Chris Rock for slapping him on Sunday during the 94th Academy Awards.
Smith walked on stage Sunday after Rock told a joke at the expense of the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
“Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” Rock joked. Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia and shaves her head.
She did not appear pleased by the joke, which initially elicited a grin from Smith. He approached Rock and slapped him once in the head before he returned to his chair.
“Keep my wife’s name out ya fucking mouth!” Smith shouted after he accosted the comedian.
Rock announced he would not pursue charges.
On his Instagram page Monday evening, Smith offered a public apology to Rock:
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.
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. 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.
Smith concluded, “I am a work in progress.”
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Sunday was not the first time Smith slapped someone in public.
In 2012, Smith slapped a Ukrainian prankster named Vitalii Sediuk in Moscow after the latter attempted to kiss him.
