Aftermath of ‘The Slap’ – How The Academy, Smith and Rock Reacted
It’s been around 24 hours since Will Smith infamously slapped host Chris Rock after Rock made an inappropriate comment about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith. The event overshadowed everything else that took place that night, including Smith’s own Best Actor award for his performance in King Richard.
While everyone on the internet weighs in on what happened and what the consequences for Smith should be, the Oscars Board of Governors opened a formal review of the incident, saying in a statement, “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.”
Whether Smith’s Academy Award will be rescinded is unknown.
While Smith apologized to the Academy for his actions when he accepted his award, he made no mention of Rock. Today, however, Smith apologized to directly to Rock via an Instagram statement that “my behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable.”
As for Rock, he declined to press charges against Smith. He also issued a statement Monday apologizing for his part in the fracas, saying, “as a comedian it can be difficult to understand which lines are to be crossed and which ones aren’t. Last night I crossed a line that I shouldn’t have and paid the enormous price of my reputation as a renown comedian. Comedy is never about poking fun at or making lite of people with major ordeals happening in their lives. Comedy is about using real life circumstances to create laughter and bring light to an otherwise dark world. With that said, I sincerely apologize to my friends Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will Smith, and the rest of the Smith family for the disrespect and disregard I displayed which was unfortunately broadcast for the world to see. I hope that, with time, forgiveness can come of this situation and we can all be better, more considerate people in the end.”