Chris Rock has finally come up with his stance following an altercation that happened and took place with Will Smith at the Oscars. This altercation involved Will slapping Chris over a joke that was made about Jada Pinkett Smith who starring in G.I Jane 2, even though Jada has been open and transparent regarding the struggles that she is facing with alopecia.
In Boston on 30th March (in audio that was acquired by Variety), speaking in a stand-up special, an incident was addressed to Chris but said he will be there saving most of his comments for his future appearances that didn’t have any material that was previously planned already.
At the beginning of his set, Chris jokingly said and joked about how was everyone’s weekend. And this was then followed by him adding that he doesn’t have a bunch of shit to be said about what has had happened, and if anyone of everyone has come to hear that, then he has a whole show that he did write before the weekend. While he also said that he still is in the processing phase of what happened at the awards. He further said that at some point he will be talking about that, and it will be both, serious and funny. He then said that he will be going to tell some jokes since it is nice to just be out.
A day after the Oscars, an apology was issued by Will for the altercation, where a statement was released by him on Instagram where he said, and we quote, “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.”
While the best actor of the year who won the Oscar, Will Smith, directly addressed Christ in his that statement on Instagram, saying, and us quoting, “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.”
Furthermore, a statement is released by the Academy too where they said that The Board of Governors has their initiative regarding disciplinary proceedings regarding violating the standards of the Academy, which then will have the result in expulsion, suspension, or other sanctions that are permitted by the Bylaws and Standards of Conduct.
They also said and had claimed, that Will was asked to leave following the slap, saying, and as quoted by us, “Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated. While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.”