LOS ANGELES: Actor Will Smith has apologised to Chris Rock for smacking the comedian during the Oscars ceremony on Monday.
Smith – who was named best actor on the night – marched onto stage during the glitzy Hollywood ceremony and hit Rock over a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair.
“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,” the “King Richard” star wrote on Instagram.
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. 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.”
Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss, and had a closely cropped head at Sunday’s ceremony.
According to AFP, the body that oversees the Academy Awards said it was launching a formal review of the incident.
The 94th Academy Awards was in its final hour when the actor and the comedian quipped that Pinkett Smith appeared ready to star in “G.I. Jane 2” – a putative sequel to a film about a female soldier who has a shaved head.
After at first appearing to laugh at the joke, Smith walked onto the stage and smacked Rock with an open hand. He then returned to his seat and shouted: “Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth.”
Smith tearfully apologized to his fellow nominees and the Academy – but not Rock – a few minutes later as he accepted his historic Oscar.
“Love will make you do crazy things,” he said.
