Will Smith news latest: Chris Rock says he’s ‘still processing’ the Oscars slap
Will Smith punches Chris Rock at the Oscars
This year’s Oscars featured shocks, sighs and surprises – but all anyone will care about is a slap. The Academy Awards took place on Sunday night, with films including The Power of the Dog, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza and Coda battling it out in the big categories.
The biggest story of the night had almost nothing to do with the awards: a shocking altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock sparked by a joke about Smith’s wife Jada. Smith walked up onto the stage and appeared to smack Rock in the face, before shouting at him to not refer to his wife again.
It undoubtedly overshadowed the night as a whole, and notably – just minutes later – Smith’s win of the Best Actor Oscar for King Richard. Through tears, Smith called himself “a vessel of love” and apologised to the Academy. The LAPD confirmed that Rock is not pressing charges. The Academy said it “does not condone violence of any form” and launched a “formal review” into what happened. Hours later, Smith apologised to Rock and said he was “embarrassed”.
Smith was also reportedly asked to leave the Oscars after breaking the Academy’s code of conduct, but he refused.
Following the on-stage incident, celebrities including Alec Baldwin and Adam Sandler have spoken out in support of Rock, whose forthcoming comedy tour has since experienced a huge surge of interest.
On Wednesday, during the sold-out Boston show of his Ego Death tour, Rock finally addressed the altercation between him and Smith.
You can follow all the developments about the “slap that was heard around the world” in our live blog below…
Summer of Soul producer criticises Chris Rock for ‘white guy’ joke made after Will Smith slap at Oscars
Summer of Soul producer Joseph Patel has criticised Chris Rock for a joke he made while presenting the film with an Oscar.
He wrote on Twitter: “We were in shock walking to the stage not because of winning, but because we, too, were still trying to make sense of what happened.”
While Patel called out Will Smith for slapping Rock, he also expressed anger towards the comedian for claiming Summer of Soul had been made by “Questlove… and four white guys”.
“What I didn’t hear in that moment walking to stage but was told of afterwards is what Chris Rock said when reading our name from the winner’s card,” he tweeted, adding: “WHAT IN THE ACTUAL F***?????”
Patel said that “the reason that makes me SO SO VERY ANGRY is because I was so proud to be one of a handful of South Asians to have ever won an Oscar in the history of the award”.
He added that he was “the third South Asian to win that night” following Riz Ahmed and Aneil Karia’s victory in the Best Live Action Short category for The Long Goodbye.
Jacob Stolworthy has the full story:
Peony Hirwani31 March 2022 08:40
Chris Rock addresses rumours he’s spoken to Will Smith after actor hit him at Oscars
Chris Rock has addressed whether he has spoken to Will Smith in the wake of the actor hitting him at the Oscars.
At his first stand-up show since the incident, Rock referenced the matter. Without mentioning Smith’s name, he said of the fallout on Wednesday (30 March): “I haven’t talked to anyone, despite what you heard.”
Jacob Stolworthy has the full story:
Peony Hirwani31 March 2022 08:30
Donald Glover says people ‘are already tired of’ reading about Will Smith-Chris Rock incident
Donald Glover has shared his thoughts about the most-talked moment of Oscars 2022.
When the 38-year-old actor was asked about Will Smith’s Oscars slap on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he said: “Everybody was kinda just, kinda chatting.”
“I think it felt like you were in someone’s living room. And it just kinda happened,” he added. “To me, I don’t even really wanna get into it. It’s like, whatever.
“People are already tired of it. People are like, ‘Dang, I gotta read another article. It’s been eight articles already.’ And also, like, I’ve had a lot of stuff happen to me while I was telling jokes on stage, that kind of thing.”
Peony Hirwani31 March 2022 08:20
Academy officials were ‘apoplectic’ after Will Smith ignored their request to leave Oscars after Chris Rock slap
Two sources who were present at the scene told TMZ that David Rubin, the president of the Academy, and CEO Dawn Hudson were “apoplectic” and “furious” at Smith when he refused to leave the venue after slapping Chris Rock.
The sources also said that there was plenty of “yelling” and “heated conversations” backstage with the King Richard actor’s reps after the incident.
Following Sunday’s (27 March) situation, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has now begun “disciplinary proceedings” against Smith.
Leonie Cooper has the full story:
Peony Hirwani31 March 2022 08:00
P Diddy says he ‘never confirmed’ Will Smith and Chris…
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