Chris Rock declines to file police report after Will Smith altercation

March 28th, 2022

Will Smith is seen at the Governors Ball at the 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 27, 2022.

Jay L. Clendenin / Jay L. Clendenin

The Los Angeles Police Department told multiple news outlets that entertainer Chris Rock is declining to press charges after viewers were left stunned Sunday night when actor Will Smith walked up to Rock and slapped him during the live broadcast.

The incident happened after Rock, presenting the Oscar for best documentary feature, said that he was excited to watch Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, in “G.I. Jane 2.”

Moments later, Smith crashed the stage and assaults Rock.

The LAPD that it is “aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program, according to the LAPD statement. “If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report,” the department said.

In its own statement, the Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences wanted to put the focus on the Oscar winners. “The Academy does not condone violence of any form,” the organization tweeted.

“Oh wow,” Rock responded to Smith’s attack. Rock did not physically retaliate, though the rest of his words were censored on stations in the United States.

Australians, however, got the uncensored version, in which Rock says, “Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me.”

Smith, who is shown seated again, yells out, “Keep my wife’s name out your f****** mouth.”

In December 2021, Pinkett-Smith shared on Instagram that she has alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair to come out. She now wears her head shaved.

Meanwhile, the award Rock was presenting went to “Summer of Soul,” a documentary directed by The Roots’ Ahmir Khalib Thompson, known professionally as Questlove, about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Related

Top Stories