Comedian Chris Rock is earning praise from fans for his calm reaction after taking a punch from actor Will Smith in a bizarre attack at the Oscars ceremony on Monday. Now, as per latest reports, the comedian has also refused to file a police complaint against Will for hitting him on stage.
Will, who picked up his maiden best actor Oscar trophy for playing Richard Williams in King Richard, during the ceremony strode to the stage minutes earlier and landed a punch on Chris after the comedian cracked a joke about his wife, actor Jada Pinkett-Smith. Chris simply laughed and continued in his role as an awards presenter.
While social media is divided over whether Will was right in trying to protect the ‘honour’ of his wife, others are furious at his unabashed display of violence. Many wondered why Will wasn't removed from the ceremony or arrested. However, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a statement, revealing that Chris had declined to file a police report.
"LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report," the LAPD statement read.
{{/usCountry}}"LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report," the LAPD statement read.
{{/usCountry}}The exchange started when Rock came on stage to announce the winners for best documentary feature award. Before revealing the winner, Rock decided to land a joke on Jada Pinkett-Smith, saying that she could star in the sequel to "G.I. Jane", to which she was seen rolling her eyes.
The joke was in reference to Jada's shaved head because of autoimmune disorder alopecia but it didn't go down well with Will, who went up to the stage and punched Rock, leaving everybody in attendance shocked over the events. After receiving the jab from the actor, Rock said, "Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me."
After his Best Actor win, Will even apologised, but not to Chris. "I want to apologise to the academy. I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees... Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things," the actor said through tears.
(With PTI inputs)