Will Smith apologizes for his behaviour at Oscars 2022: ‘I was out of line and I was wrong’

By Associated Press

LOS ANGELES: The day after slapping Chris Rock on the Oscars stage and upending the 94th Academy Awards, Will Smith issued an apology to the comic, to the academy and to viewers at dwelling, saying he was “out of line” and that his actions are “not indicative of the man I want to be.”

The fallout from Smith’s actions throughout Sunday’s ceremony continued Monday as Hollywood and the general public continued to wrestle with a second that shocked the Dolby Theatre crowd and viewers at dwelling. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences condemned Smith putting Rock, who had made a joke about his spouse, Jada Pinkett Smith, and mentioned it will launch an inquiry.

Later within the day, Smith gave a stronger apology than he did in his finest actor acceptance speech, which notably hadn’t included an apology to Rock.

“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” mentioned Smith in a press release issued by his publicist and posted on Instagram. “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.”

The 53-year-old actor added apologies to the movie academy, producers of the telecast, attendees, viewers and the Williams household. Smith was honored Sunday for his position as Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, in “King Richard.”

“I am a work in progress,” added Smith.

After calling a board of governors assembly Monday to debate the incident, the movie academy mentioned that it overview Smith’s actions and “will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law.” The Los Angeles Police Department mentioned Sunday it was conscious of the incident however was not pursuing an investigation as a result of the individual concerned declined to file a police report.

Smith shocked the Dolby Theatre crowd and viewers at dwelling when he took the stage after Rock, showing as a presenter, joked: “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.”

The joke touched a nerve. Pinkett Smith, whose head is shaved, has spoken publicly about her alopecia prognosis. Smith strode on stage and slapped Rock throughout the face. Back in his seat, Smith twice shouted for Rock to “get my wife’s name out your (expletive) mouth.”

His phrases echoed clearly all through the Dolby, although broadcaster ABC minimize the audio for about 15 seconds. Within an hour, Smith received finest actor, receiving a standing ovation. During his five-minute acceptance speech, Smith spoke about defending his household. He additionally apologized to the academy.

Rock’s joke wasn’t a part of his routine in the course of the rehearsals main as much as the present, based on two sources near manufacturing who weren’t licensed to talk publicly.

But Rock had joked about Pinkett Smith earlier than. He hosted the 2016 Oscars, when some had been boycotting the ceremony over the #OscarsSoWhite group of nominees, together with the Smiths. Said Rock then: “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.”

Smith’s actions rattled a pivotal Oscar ceremony. Until that second, producer Will Packer had steered an orderly and lighthearted telecast that the academy hoped would restore the Academy Awards following final 12 months’s record-low scores. Sunday’s ceremony reached an estimated 15.36 million viewers, based on preliminary Nielsen firm numbers Monday. While a marked enchancment over the 9.85 million that watched final 12 months, it was nonetheless the second-least seen Oscars.

Some academy members, like writer-producer Marshall Herskovitz, referred to as for the academy to take disciplinary motion in opposition to Smith.

“He disgraced our entire community tonight,” wrote Herskovitz on Twitter. Whoopi Goldberg, a member of the Academy’s board of governors, mentioned Monday on “The View”: “We’re not going to take that Oscar from him. There will be consequences, I’m sure.”

The Screen Actors Guild additionally weighed in. The movie, tv and radio union referred to as the incident “unacceptable.” SAG mentioned that it had been in touch with the academy and ABC, and it doesn’t touch upon the guild’s personal disciplinary course of.

A way of disbelief hung within the air on the Dolby Theatre after Smith’s assault. Not solely was it a hard-to-fathom break with decorum on reside nationwide tv an incident so dramatic, even movie-like, that many initially assumed it was a staged bit  it appeared wildly out of character for certainly one of Hollywood’s most relentlessly upbeat stars. And it got here lower than an hour earlier than Smith reached probably the head of his profession, profitable his first Oscar, for finest actor.

“In a way, I feel bad for Will Smith, too, because I think he let his emotions get the better of him, and this should have been one of the great nights of his life,” mentioned former Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel on Bill Simmons’ podcast. “And now it’s not. Was there anyone who didn’t like Will Smith an hour ago in the world? Like no one, right? Now he doesn’t have a single comedian friend — that’s for sure.”

Some questioned whether or not Smith ought to have been allowed to proceed to sit down entrance and middle after smacking Rock. Several stars rushed to counsel and calm Smith, together with Denzel Washington, Bradley Cooper and Tyler Perry. But the timing was intensely awkward as a result of the very best actor class was due up quickly after, and Smith had lengthy been thought of a lock for the award.

“I know we’re all still processing, but the way casual violence was normalized tonight by a collective national audience will have consequences that we can’t even fathom in the moment,” wrote Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, on Twitter.

The drama overshadowed some historic wins on the Oscars. The deaf household drama “CODA” turned the primary movie with a largely deaf solid to win finest image. For the primary time, a streaming service, Apple TV+, took Hollywood’s prime honor, signaling a profound shift in Hollywood and in moviegoing. Wins for Ariana DeBose of “West Side Story,” Troy Kotsur of “CODA” and Jane Campion, director of “The Power of the Dog,” all had made historical past.

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Others got here to Smith’s protection, together with Tiffany Haddish, who co-starred with Pinkett Smith in “Girls Trip.”

“Maybe the world might not like how it went down, but for me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives,” Haddish informed People journal.

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After the present, Smith posed for images along with his household exterior the Vanity Fair social gathering. Inside, cellphone movies captured him dancing to “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” whereas clutching his Oscar. Their son Jaden tweeted: “And That’s How We Do It.” On Instagram, Smith posted: “Me ’n Jada Pinkett Smith got all dressed up to choose chaos.”