Chris Rock has declined to file a police report after Will Smith slapped him during the 2022 Oscars ceremony, according to a LAPD statement to ET. Smith slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about the “King Richard” star’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Rock, who has made a joke about Pinkett Smith before at the 2016 Oscars, took another jab at her on Sunday night when he said, “Jada, I love ya. ‘G.I. Jane 2’, can’t wait to see it.” (Pinkett Smith has been open about her struggles with alopecia, an autoimmune disorder which causes bald spots and hair loss.) Moments later, Smith walked onto the stage and gave Rock an open-handed slap to his cheek. Smith then walked offstage and cursed at Rock from his seat, yelling, “Leave my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth.”
In a statement, the LAPD said they were aware of the incident but that “the individual involved has declined to file a police report.”
“LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program,” the statement reads. “The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”
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— Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
Smith — who was comforted by Denzel Washington, Tyler Perry and Bradley Cooper after the incident — emotionally apologized to the Academy during his speech for his Best Actor win for his role in “King Richard”, though he didn’t apologize to Rock.
“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world,” he said, breaking down in tears. “I’m being called on in my life to love people, and to protect people, and to be a river to my people. I know to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse and you gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you, and you gotta smile and you gotta pretend like that’s OK.”
“I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees,” he continued. “This is a beautiful moment, and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me, it’s about being able to shine a light on all the people..the entire cast and crew of ‘King Richard’.”
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