Chris Rock won't be pressing charges against Will Smith after Oscars slap
Questions still abound after Will Smith walked up on the Academy Awards stage Monday night and slapped Chris Rock on national television Sunday night. But whatever ramifications may come after for Smith after that moment, Rock for one won't be pressing charges.
That's according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department obtained by PEOPLE.
"LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program," an LAPD spokesperson said. "The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."
While presenting Best Documentary Feature, Rock made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. "Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it," he quipped. Jada Pinkett, who attended the Oscars ceremony with a shaved head, had previously made public her struggles with hair loss caused by alopecia.
Pinkett was seen on camera rolling her eyes at the joke, which evoked Demi Moore's shaved head in the 1997 film G.I. Jane. Smith, however, promptly walked up on stage and slapped Rock in the face. A visibly stunned Rock told Smith it was just a joke, but Smith returned to his seat and shouted, "Keep my wife's name out of your f---ing mouth."
About 20 minutes later, Smith won Best Actor for his performance in King Richard and used his acceptance speech to address the incident without mentioning Rock by name.
"Art imitates life," Smith said, in part. "I look like the crazy father, just like they said. I'm the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things."
He apologized to his fellow actors and to the Academy, but, again, did not mention Rock. "What Denzel [Washington] said to me a few moments ago, he said, 'At your highest moment, that's when the devil comes for you,' " Smith added. "I want to be a vessel for love."
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