King Richard star Will Smith might have gotten a standing ovation for his Best Lead Actor Oscar win on Sunday night, but not everyone present was thrilled with the actor’s actions that night, including The Batman’s Zoe Kravitz. Shortly before Smith’s name was announced as the winner of the coveted Academy Award, he was involved in an altercation with comedian Chris Rock. After Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hairstyle, Smith approached the comic and smacked him across the face before returning to his seat.
“Keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth!” Smith angrily shouted at Rock, though the audio was muted in the U.S. broadcast.
In the days after the incident, many celebrities have been sharing their thoughts on what happened. Some have criticized Smith for his behavior, along with the Academy for not taking action during or after the onstage attack. The concern some viewers have expressed is that seemingly giving Smith a free pass for the slap sends the message that the Academy condones violence at its award ceremony.
Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Kravitz shared an image of herself in the dress she wore to the Oscars that night. In the caption, she blasts the Academy by referring to the incident in a not-so-subtle way. The actress wrote, “here’s a picture of my dress at the show where we are apparently assaulting people on stage now.”
“and here is a picture of my dress at the party after the award show -where we are apparently screaming profanities and assaulting people on stage now,” Kravitz wrote in a follow-up post, revealing the other outfit she sported that evening.
Will Smith Has Apologized to Chris Rock Publicly, But Will Action Be Taken?
After attacking Chris Rock, Will Smith was awarded the Best Lead Actor Oscar for King Richard. In his acceptance speech, Smith spoke through tears and apologized to the Academy along with his fellow nominees for the incident. Noticeably, he did not apologize to Rock directly. That was another source of controversy leveled against Smith, though he did post an apology for Rock to Instagram on Monday.
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” Smith wrote. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. 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 added, “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
Despite the apology, the Academy has announced that a “formal review” has been launched into what happened on Sunday. It remains to be seen if this will result any actions being taken against Smith, but there are rumors that he could end up having the Oscar rescinded.
