Will Smith issues formal apology to Chris Rock after Oscars slap: “I was out of line”

nme.com:

Will Smith has shared a formal apology to Chris Rock, following the pair’s altercation at this year’s Oscars ceremony.During Sunday’s event (March 27), Smith interrupted a monologue of Rock’s after the latter joked about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, being bald (the Matrix actress has been open in the past about suffering with alopecia).

Smith walked up to the stage and slapped Rock, then after returning to his seat, yelled at the presenting comedian: “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.”Later in the evening, Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor In A Leading Role, taking home the trophy for his work in King Richard.

During his acceptance speech, Smith spoke about his endeavours to protect his family and “be a river to my people” – as well as being defended by Denzel Washington – and apologised to the Academy and his “fellow nominees” through tears.He did not apologise to Rock.

However, Sean “Diddy” Combs later said that the pair settled their feud after the event finished. In a subsequent response to the incident, The Academy condemned Smith’s conduct, saying it had “officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law”.Smith has now shared a public statement of his own, conceding that the way he acted at the ceremony “was unacceptable and inexcusable”.