After a full night’s worth of celebrating a long overdue Best Actor win, Will Smith has just posted an apology for slapping Chris Rock after the comedian joked about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith’s baldness. While some saw Smith being allowed to remain at the event, accept his award, and attend the after parties (rapping along to his own classics, no less) as a sign of zero accountability, the actor has formally apologized via a statement shared to his Instagram Monday evening.
“My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable,” Smith wrote. “Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.” Smith, who it should be noted, did apologize to The Academy and his nominees during his acceptance speech, offered an olive branch to Rock, admitting that he was in the “wrong” and “out of line.”
This comes after reports earlier this afternoon where sources alleged Academy members were divided on how to handle the incident, if at all, with some wondering if there was cause to demand that Smith return his Oscar. Chris Rock has yet to make a statement. Read Smith’s statement in full below:
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