LOS ANGELES — Oscar presenter Chris Rock has declined to file a police report over actor Will Smith slapping him during the live broadcast of the Academy Awards ceremony and the LAPD is not investigating the incident at this time, the department said in a release Sunday night.
“If the party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report,” the statement said.
Actor and comedian Rock was presenting the best documentary Oscar when he made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, saying that she could appear in the movie"G.I. Jane,” apparently alluding to her shaved head. Pinkett Smith earlier disclosed she had developed a hair loss condition.
“I can’t wait to see you in ‘G.I. Jane 2,’“ Rock said about the film starring Demi Moore as a soldier with a shaved head.
Smith rushed the stage, slapped Rock and shouted at him.
“Keep my wife’s name out your f— mouth!” Smith said when he got back to his seat. The profanity was bleeped out on ABC and left audiences at the Dolby Theater and on Twitter stunned.
Later in the night, Will Smith won the Best Actor award for “King Richard.” He apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees but not to Rock.
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