Actor says attack was ‘out of line’ and calls violence of all kinds ‘poisonous and destructive’
Will Smith has issued an apology to Chris Rock, the Academy and viewers after slapping the comedian on stage at the 94th Academy Awards, saying he was “out of line” and that his actions were “not indicative of the man I want to be”.
The fallout from Sunday’s show continued on Monday as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences condemned Smith’s onstage assault and said it would launch an inquiry. Smith apologized to the Academy during his best actor acceptance speech, which notably didn’t include an apology to Rock.
