Will Smith said his actions (at the Oscars) are not indicative of the man he wants to be.
Los Angeles:
Actor Will Smith issued an apology on Monday to Chris Rock for hitting the comedian during the Oscars ceremony, as the awards watchdog said it was conducting an official review of the incident. .
Smith – who was named best actor of the night – took to the stage in the glitzy Hollywood ceremony and impressed Rock by joking about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair.
“I want to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was wrong and I was wrong. I am ashamed and my actions do not represent the man I want to be,” the “King Richard” star wrote on Instagram.
“Violence in all its forms is toxic and destructive. My behavior at the Oscars last night was unacceptable and inexcusable,” Smith said.
“Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s state of health was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.”
Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia areata, a condition that causes hair loss, and had a haircut at Sunday’s ceremony.
The 94th Academy Awards took place in the final hour when the Rock actor and comedian quipped that Pinkett Smith was ready to star in “GI Jane 2” – the hypothetical sequel to the film about A female soldier shaves her head.
After first being amused by the joke, Smith walked onto the stage and slapped Rock in the face with his hand.
He then went back to his seat and yelled, “Get my wife’s name out of your mouth.”
Smith tearfully apologized to the nominees and the Academy – but not the Rock – minutes after he accepted his historic Oscar.
“Love will make you do crazy things,” he said.
On Monday, he repeated that apology.
“I also want to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees, and all the people 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 tarnished what was once a beautiful journey for all of us.
“I’m in the process of working.”
Smith’s sketchy denunciation comes hours after the Academy condemned his conduct and said it was looking into possible sanctions.
“We have officially begun a formal review surrounding the incident and will seek further action and consequences consistent with the California Code of Conduct, Standards of Conduct, and law,” a statement said.
Celebrities from Tinseltown and beyond have reacted with shock and awe to Smith’s outburst, with some defending him and others condemning the display’s “toxic masculinity.”
“He could have killed him. It was total rage and violence out of control,” filmmaker Judd Apatow said in a tweet he later deleted.
“The indie comic book writer is adept at dealing with scammers. Violent attacks… not so much,” says “Star Wars” icon Mark Hamill.
“The narcissistic maniac”
The comedy world quickly rallied to Rock’s side, complaining that Smith’s outbursts could spark imitation behavior, endangering other stand-ups.
Emmy-winning Rosie O’Donnell called a “sadly toxic display of masculinity from a narcissistic madman”, while Kathy Griffin added: “Now we all have to worry about who wants to become the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theater.”
Booker Prize-winning author Bernadine Evaristo argues that Smith not only destroyed what should have been his greatest triumph, but also tarnished his legacy.
“Only the fifth black man in nearly 100 years to win an Oscar for a male lead role and the first in 16 years to use violence instead of using the power of words to kill Chris Rock. Then, he claims God and Love made him do it,” she said.
Smith traveled from the Oscars to the Vanity Fair after the party, where he and his family posed for pictures.
Inside, he was filmed dancing and singing along to the 1991 song “Summertime”.
Several celebrities have spoken out in Smith’s defense, with singer Nicki Minaj saying that as her husband, Smith is well aware of the pain Pinkett Smith has to endure.
“You only get to witness in real time what goes on in a man’s soul when he looks over at the woman he loves and sees her holding back tears over a ‘little joke’ at her own expense,” she wrote.
“This is something that any & every man really feels immediately. While you see the joke, he sees her hurt.”
Some social media users have called for Smith’s Oscars to be stripped, but Academy governor and Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg says that won’t happen.
“We’re not going to take that Oscar away from him,” she said on the daytime TV show “The View.”
“I’m sure there will be consequences, but I don’t think that’s what they’re going to do.”
One Academy voter, who wished to remain anonymous, said it was frustrating that the case had dominated coverage.
“I would love the story of the great diversity of the Awards Ceremony, which now seems secondary,” the person told AFP.
“A female director won, an actor from the disabled community won, so did an actress from the LGBTQ community.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
