Will Smith has apologised for slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
“I was out of line and I was wrong,” read a statement on Monday from Mr Smith addressed specifically to Mr Rock, the Motion Picture Academy, and others.
The actor brought the room to silence when he strode on stage and hit the comedian, who had just made a joke about Ms Pinkett Smith’s baldness, a result of her diagnosis of alopecia.
In his apology, the King Richard star said he knows jokes are part of his life as a public figure, and that “violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive.”
“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 emotionally. I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong,” the statement reads. “I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence a world of love and kindness.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
