The LAPD has released a statement regarding Will Smith striking Chris Rock on stage at the Academy Awards.
Rock was presenting the award for Best Documentary when he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s appearance.
“Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see you,” he quipped in an apparent reference to the actor’s shaved head.
In response, Smith walked on stage and hit Rock, before yelling “keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth”.
After the ceremony, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a statement about the incident: “LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report.”
It continued: “If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”
The Independent has contacted a representative of Smith’s for comment.
Denzel Washington, Bradley Cooper, and Tyler Perry were seen appearing to console Smith after the incident, with Smith revealing what Washington had said to him during his Best Actor speech for King Richard.
Earlier in the ceremony, Regina Hall – who was hosting the ceremony alongside Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes – poked fun at Smith and Pinkett Smith’s marriage.
Following the punch, a joke Rock made about Pinkett Smith at the 2016 Oscars resurfaced online.
Find the full list of 2022 Oscar winners here.
