“I Am A Work in Progress”: Will Smith Apologises To Chris Rock
The actor released an official statement about his public outburst at the Oscars that made headlines everywhere…
At the Academy Awards on Sunday, Will Smith took to the stage to slap Chris Rock in response to a joke he made about Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, while presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature.
Will has since released an official statement on Instagram stating, “I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong.”
On Monday, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences condemned Will’s actions. Attendees of the Oscars are expected to adhere to a code of conduct and as a result the Academy declared that a formal review of the incident would be conducted.
The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 28, 2022
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable,” stated Will in his post.
Since the event there has been an ongoing conversation as to whether the joke was scripted and the slap staged. However, it seems that Chris did not recite the joke in rehearsals and that it was in fact ad-libbed on the night.
Will signed off his statement with, “I am a work in progress.”
Lead image courtesy of Getty Images/Mike Coppola