Smith’s actions during Sunday’s ceremony continued on Monday as Hollywood and the public continued to wrestle with the moment that stunned the Dolby Theater crowd and the audience at home. Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences condemned Blacksmith To kill Rock, who made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smithand said it would launch an investigation.
Later in the day, Smith delivered a stronger apology than his Best Actor acceptance speech, which did not specifically include an apology from The Rock.
“Violence is toxic and destructive in all its forms,” Smith said in a statement issued by his publicist and posted on Instagram. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and unforgivable. 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 Of. I want to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am ashamed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. Of violence in a world of love and kindness There’s no room for that.”
The 53-year-old actor apologized to the film academy, the producers of the broadcast, attendees, the audience and the Williams family. Smith was honored on Sunday for playing Richard Williams, Venus and Serena’s father, in “King Richard.”
“I’m a work in progress,” Smith said.
After convening a meeting of the Board of Governors on Monday to discuss the incident, the Film Academy said it reviews 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 said on Sunday it was aware of the incident but was not investigating because the person involved refused to file a police report.
Smith stunned the Dolby Theater crowd and the audience at home when he posed as a presenter on stage after The Rock, joking: “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Gen 2,’ wait to see it.” can not do.”
The joke touched a nerve. Pinkett Smith, who has a shaved head, has spoken publicly about her alopecia diagnosis. Smith stepped onto the stage and slapped Rock in the face. Back in his seat, Smith yelled twice for The Rock to “Get my wife’s name out of your mouth.” His words clearly resonated throughout Dolby, although broadcaster ABC cut the audio for about 15 seconds. Within an hour, Smith won the Best Actor award, receiving a standing ovation. During his five-minute acceptance speech, Smith spoke of protecting his family. He also apologized to the academy.
According to two production sources who were not authorized to speak publicly, Rock’s jokes were not part of his routine during rehearsals for the show.
But The Rock had previously ridiculed Pinkett Smith. He hosted the 2016 Oscars after some were boycotting the ceremony over the #OscarsSoWhite group of nominees, including Smith. The Rock then said: “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like boycotting me rihannaof panties. I was not invited.”
Smith’s actions shook an important Oscar ceremony. Until that moment, producer Will Packer had conducted an orderly and light-hearted telecast that was expected to restore the Academy Awards after last year’s record-low ratings. According to preliminary numbers from the Nielsen company, Sunday’s ceremony reached an estimated 15.36 million spectators. While a marked improvement over the 9.85 million views last year, it was still the second least viewed Oscars.
Some members of the Academy, such as writer-producer Marshall Herskowitz, called on the Academy to take disciplinary action against Smith.
“He insulted our entire community tonight,” Herskowitz wrote on Twitter.
Whoopi GoldbergA member of the Academy’s board of governors said on “The View” on Monday: “We’re not going to take that Oscar from him. There will be consequences, I’m sure.”
The Screen Actors Guild also weighed in. The Film, Television and Radio Union called the incident “unacceptable”. SAG said it is in contact with the Academy and ABC, and it does not comment on the Guild’s own disciplinary process.
A sense of distrust at the Dolby Theater flew into the air after Smith’s attack. Not only was it a hard-to-fathom break with the decorations on live national television – an event so dramatic, even film-like, that many initially assumed it was a bit staged – It seemed wildly out of character for Hollywood’s most relentlessly excited stars. And it came less than an hour after Smith had possibly reached the pinnacle of his career, winning his first Oscar for Best Actor.
“In a way, I feel bad for Will Smith too, because I think he let his feelings get the better of him, and it must be one of the great nights of his life,” said former Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel on the bill. Said Simmons’ podcast. “And it’s not like that now. Was there anyone in the world not to like Will Smith an hour ago? Like nobody, right? He doesn’t have a single comedian friend anymore — that’s for sure.”
Some questioned whether Smith should have been allowed to sit front and center after hitting The Rock. Several stars reached out to advise and calm Smith, including Denzel Washington, Bradley Cooper and Tyler Perry. But the timing was awkward as the Best Actor category was soon to come, and Smith had long been considered a lock for the award.
Janai Nelson, NAACP president and director-advocate, wrote, “I know we’re all still processing, but the way casual violence was normalized tonight by a collective national audience has consequences for us even in the moment.” Can’t understand.” Legal Defense Fund, on Twitter.
The play garnered some historic wins at the Oscars. The deaf family drama “CODA” became the first film with a largely deaf cast to win Best Picture. For the first time ever, a streaming service, Apple TV+, took Hollywood’s top honors, signaling a profound shift in Hollywood and film. Wins for “West Side Story”‘s Ariana DeBos, “CODA”‘s Troy Kotsur and “The Power of the Dog” director Jen Campion all made history.
Others came to Smith’s rescue, including Tiffany Haddish, who co-starred with Pinkett Smith on “Girls Trip.”
“The world might not like how it went down, but to me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen because it convinced me that there are still men out there who love their women, their wives.” and take care of them,” Haddish told People magazine.
After the show, Smith posed with his family outside the Vanity Fair party. Inside, cell phone video captured him dancing to “Gettin Jiggy Wit It” while holding the Oscars. His son Jaden tweeted: “And here’s how we do it.” On Instagram, Smith posted: “Me ‘n Jada Pinkett Smith all set to pick up the chaos.”