PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — West Philadelphia legend Will Smith has made an apology to comedian Chris Rock. Smith brought some drama to the Oscars on Sunday night when he took the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to slap Rock after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith.
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Smith took to Instagram to make his apology.
Rock, while presenting the best documentary award, had done what he always does: He told a few jokes about some of the Hollywood A-List in the audience. Among them was Smith’s wife, whose head is shaved to the skin because of hair loss from the autoimmune disorder alopecia.
“Jada, can't wait for ‘G.I. Jane 2,’” Rock said, a reference to the 1997 movie in which Demi Moore plays the first woman to undergo Navy SEALS training, a role for which she shaved her head.
Pinkett Smith was visibly unamused by the joke. Her husband, who could be seen laughing at the joke initially, responded by getting out of his seat, walking up to Rock, and smacking him across the face with live cameras rolling.
While the audio was censored on the broadcast, Variety confirmed that Smith yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—--- mouth.”
"I'm going to," Rock replied.
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“Wow, Will Smith just smacked the s— out of me,” Rock said, resuming a casual demeanor before going on to present the award to “Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).” The documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival is Questlove’s directorial debut. He shares the honor with producers Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent, David Dinerstein.
Later in the night, Smith won best actor for his role in “King Richard.”
Ironically the altercation may have overshadowed not only Smith's very first Oscar win, but also the best documentary award, won by another Philly native.
During his acceptance speech, a teary-eyed Smith said, “I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all of my fellow nominees.”
He did not initially apologize to Rock before his Instagram post on Monday evening.
Moments after the incident, Diddy took to the stage to present a tribute honoring the 50th anniversary of "The Godfather." He referenced the duo's beef by saying: “Will and Chris, we’re going to solve this like family. Right now we’re moving on with love. Everybody make some noise.”
Pinkett Smith has talked openly about losing her hair. Last year, she shared her decision to shave her head on Instagram.
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"Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something," she captioned a video. "Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!"
The Los Angeles Police Department issued a statement later on in the night saying that Rock did not want to press charges. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences later put out a statement saying, "The Academy does not condone violence of any form."
The slap was heard around the entertainment world.
Audacy's Johnny Lopez contributed to this report.