A day after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage during the live broadcast of this year’s Academy Awards, the Oscar-winning actor has now apologized to the comedian in an Instagram post.
The actor says his behaviour was unacceptable and inexcusable, he reacted emotionally. He goes on to say: “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 posting goes on to apologise to the Academy, the show’s producers and everyone in attendance or watching around the world along with the Williams family and “my King Richard family.”
He closes it with: “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.”
Early yesterday the Academy condemned Smith’s actions, launching a full formal review into the matter and scheduling a meeting of the full Academy board of governors for Wednesday to “explore further action and consequences”.
The actor’s union SAG-AFTRA has also weighed in on the incident, calling it unacceptable in a statement and indicating they are in contact with both the Academy and ABC about the event “to ensure this behavior is appropriately addressed”.
Will Smith’s mother, Carolyn Smith, has also given an interview to Philadelphia’s local ABC affiliate Action News (via Variety) indicating that she has never seen her son lash out the way he did: “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him go off. First time in his lifetime… I’ve never seen him do that.”
Source: THR
