Well, you had to see this coming.
Will Smith issued a lengthy apology to Chris Rock on Instagram earlier this evening, saying that his behavior at the Oscars yesterday was unacceptable, inexcusable, and that he was wrong for reacting the way that he did.
Of course, he’s referring to last night at the Academy Awards, when host Chris made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith playing G.I. Jane (because G.I. Jane is bald), apparently not knowing that Jada has alopecia and has been open about her struggle dealing with her own hair loss.
Moments after Chris made the joke, Will appeared to be laughing, and upon realizing Jada didn’t think it was all that funny, marched up on stage during the live show and slapped the ever-living shit out of Chris.
Of course, the wild moment went mega viral, and it’s pretty much all anyone’s been talking about today.
Will also noted in the apology letter that he felt like causing such a scene during the show took away from the team who was part of the King Richard film (ya think?), which he was nominated and won the award for Best Actor mere minutes after striking Chris.
Read his full statement below:
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. 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.
I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone 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 stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.
I am a work in progress. Sincerely, Will.”
As of right now, according to LAPD, Chris has decided not to press charges against Will.
Both men were seen out at the Vanity Fair after-party last night, and according to P Diddy of all people (yes, you read that right), they were able to talk it out there:
“That’s not a problem. That’s over. I can confirm that. It’s all love. They’re brothers.”
However, others have said that Chris has not heard from him at all and that Chris wasn’t even at the Vanity Fair party. Looked like Will was having a good time wither way:
The Academy, however, has opened up an investigation to decide what their next steps will be, potentially considering taking Will’s Best Actor award away because of what he did during the show.
And I’ll leave this here one more time, in case you somehow still haven’t seen the uncensored video of the incident:
