Over 93 years, the Oscars have witnessed its fair share of controversial moments. From boycotting by various A-listers, the wrong name being called out for the best picture, choosing controversial winners, people refusing to accept their awards, and now most recently, Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.
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Will Smith Lashes Out At Chris Rock
Halfway through the ceremony, Chris Rock came to present an award, leading with some jabs at his celebrity colleagues. Little did he know, he was moments away from one of the most infamous events ever to occur on the Academy Awards stage. After making a joke about how Jada Smith resembled a G.I Joe figurine, Will Smith got up to the stage and hit Rock, leaving the room in a grip of sickening silence, broken only by Rock’s attempts to regain control of the room, and Will Smith shouting “Keep my wife’s name, out of your f*****g mouth”
Following this event, Will went on to win his first Oscar for Best Male Performance, and delivered a very emotional speech, trying to reprimand his actions earlier in the evening. Rock wasn’t seen much after that, only to be spotted at a rather private party hosted by Guy Oseary, much different to Will Smith, seen dancing with his fans to his hit, Get Jiggy With It at the Vanity Fair after party.
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The next day, Will issued an apology on Instagram, stating that his actions were “inexcusable and unacceptable” and asked Rock if they could talk it over. The comedian didn’t respond to the statement straight away. Following his first public appearance after the incident at a stand-up show in Boston, he said that “I am still processing what happened” adding: “At some point, I will talk about it, but right now, I want to tell jokes”
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A lot has happened since then, with the reaction of various celebrities and fans chipping in their feelings about the whole fiasco, along with Smith being banned from the Academy for a decade. The Academy was also under scrutiny for how they handled the situation, with the hosts – Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, and Wanda Sykes, demanding an apology themselves.
“I Am Remorseful” – Will Smith, 4 Months Later
After nearly 4 months after the incident, Smith put out an apology video. “It hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me,” Smith said in the video. “I am deeply remorseful, and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself, right? I’m human, and I made a mistake.”
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According to sources, Chris has denied speaking on the matter, though, a few hours after the video, Chris, on stage for a show, said “If everybody claims to be a victim, then nobody will hear the real victims, even me being slapped by ‘Suge Smith’ ” taking a dig at the star by comparing him to Suge Knight.
Looking at Chris’ cold take on the incident, stating that it’s Will that needs him to publicly accept the apology, and Will’s trying to reconcile with an old colleague, time will only tell if these two giants of the industry will sort out their differences, or not.
Source: Youtube
