Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock draws heated reaction from Hollywood; Academy to start 'formal review'
One of the most shocking moments in Oscar history left a stunned Hollywood reeling when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on the stage of the Dolby Theatre Sunday night in front of millions of people.
The moment came towards the tail end of the telecast, when Rock -- who was presenting the award for best documentary feature -- made a joke about Smith's wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith.
Rock, referencing Pinkett Smith's bald head, suggested she would be starring in a sequel to the 1997 movie "G.I. Jane."
"Jada, I love you, 'G.I. Jane 2,' can't wait to see it."
Pinkett Smith has talked in the past about having the hair-loss condition alopecia. And her husband, who initially appeared to laugh at the quip, then lumbered on stage and slapped Rock.
"Will Smith just smacked the s--- out of me," Rock told the crowd, who initially laughed thinking it was a bit.
Smith returned to his seat, then yell at Rock twice, "keep my wife's name out of your f----- mouth."
Minutes later, Smith won the best actor award for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, in "King Richard."
Variety senior editor Marc Malkin told CBSLA that he spoke to Smith later in the night at an Oscar party.
"There was Will Smith in the middle of the dance floor, holding his Oscar, dancing away," Malkin said. "I did go up to him, I said, 'How you doing?' And he just looked at me and said, 'It's all about love.'"
The incident prompted a flurry of reaction.
"Let me tell you something, it's a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a comedian," Kathy Griffin wrote on Twitter. "Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next will smith in comedy clubs and theaters."
"Violence isn't OK," Sophia Bush wrote on Twitter. "Assault is never the answer. Also? This is the 2nd time that Chris has made fun of Jada on the Oscars stage, & tonight he went after her alopecia. Punching down at someone's auto-immune disease is wrong. Doing so on purpose is cruel. They both need a breather."
"We should never get to a place where we sit and watch a movie star hit someone on global television then, moments later, get a standing ovation while talking about love," Maria Shriver said.
"Will Smith owes Chris Rock a huge apology," Rob Reiner wrote. "There is no excuse for what he did. He's lucky Chris is not filing assault charges. The excuses he made tonight were bull----."
"I think when they point fun at you, and you're one of the celebrities, it's a little different than if you're the wife of one, but I absolutely don't condone violence of any kind," Jane Seymour told CBSLA on the red carpet of Elton John's Oscar party.
Comedian Tiffani Haddish, who attended the ceremony, had a different take.
"When I saw a Black man stand up for his wife, that meant so much to me," Haddish told People magazine. "As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, 'Keep my wife's name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,' that's what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you."
Meanwhile, Smith's son, Jaden Smith, wrote on Twitter, "And that's how we do it."
Following the show, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences posted on its Twitter page: "The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world."
On Monday, the Academy released a statement saying it had started a formal review of the incident saying, "The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night's show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law."
The Academy offered no further details on what potential consequences Smith could face -- such as having his Academy membership suspended or revoked.
The Los Angeles Police Department also issued a statement saying that Rock had declined to pursue any charges against Smith.
Sean "Diddy" Combs briefly addressed the situation when he took the stage immediately after the slapping incident to introduce a 50th anniversary celebration of "The Godfather."
"Will and Chris, we're going to solve that like family," he said.
