Los Angeles: Actor Will Smith offered public apology Monday to Chris Rock for smacking the comedian during the Oscars ceremony, as the body that oversees the awards said it was launching a formal review of the incident.
Smith โ who was named best actor on the night โ marched onto stage during the glitzy Hollywood ceremony and hit Rock over a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smithโs hair.
โI 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,โ the โKing Richardโ star wrote on Instagram.
โViolence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last nightโs Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable,โ Smith said.
โJokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jadaโs medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.โ
Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss, and had a closely cropped head at Sundayโs ceremony.
The 94th Academy Awards was in its final hour when actor and comedian Rock quipped that Pinkett Smith appeared ready to star in โG.I. Jane 2โ โ a putative sequel to a film about a female soldier who has a shaved head.
After at first appearing to laugh at the joke, Smith walked onto the stage and smacked Rock with an open hand.
He then returned to his seat and shouted: โKeep my wifeโs name out of your f*****g mouth.โ
Smith tearfully apologized to his fellow nominees and the Academy โ but not Rock โ a few minutes later as he accepted his historic Oscar.
โLove will make you do crazy things,โ he said.
On Monday, he repeated that apology.
โI would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world.
โI 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.
โI am a work in progress.
Smithโs mea culpa came hours after the Academy condemned his behavior and said it was looking at possible sanctions.
โWe 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,โ a statement said.
Celebrities from Tinseltown and beyond reacted with shock and stunned amazement to Smithโs outburst, with some defending him and others condemning a display of โtoxic masculinity.โ
โHe could have killed him. Thatโs pure out of control rage and violence,โ filmmaker Judd Apatow said in a tweet he later deleted.
โStand-up comics are very adept at handling hecklers. Violent physical assaultโฆ not so much,โ โStar Warsโ icon Mark Hamill chipped in.
โNarcissistic Madmanโ
The comedy world was quick to rally to Rockโs side, complaining that Smithโs outburst could spark copycat behavior, endangering other stand-ups.
Emmy Award-winning Rosie OโDonnell called out a โsad display of toxic masculinity from a narcissistic madman,โ while Kathy Griffin added: โNow we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.โ
ooker prize-winning author Bernadine Evaristo suggested that Smith had not just wrecked what should have been his greatest triumph, but had also sullied his legacy.
โOnly the fifth black man in nearly 100 years to win an Oscar for male lead, and the first in 16 years, resorts to violence instead of utilizing the power of words to slay Chris Rock. Then he claims God and Love made him do it,โ she said.
Smith went from the Oscars to the Vanity Fair after party, where he and his family posed for photos.
Inside, he was filmed dancing and singing along to his 1991 smash โSummertime.โ
Some celebrities came to Smithโs defense, with singer Nicki Minaj saying that as her husband, Smith was privy to the pain Pinkett Smith endures.
โYou just got to witness in real time what happens in a manโs soul when he looks over to the woman he loves & sees her holding back tears from a โlittle jokeโ at her expense,โ she tweeted.
โThis is what any & every real man feels in that instant. While yโall seeing the joke heโs seeing her pain.โ
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