Chris Rock Not Pressing Charges Over Will Smith Oscars Incident, Say Police

Chris Rock is not pressing charges against Will Smith following an incident on-stage at this year’s Oscars. 

The actor appeared to strike the comedian during Sunday night’s live broadcast of the Academy Awards, after he made a “G.I. Jane” joke about Will’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, in an apparent reference to her buzzcut hairstyle. 

Jada has previously spoken about her experiences with alopecia and said in the past this is what prompted her to shave her head.

After Will walked on to the stage and seemingly hit Chris, he told the comic to “leave my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth”.

The Los Angeles Police Department has since said Chris has declined to file a police report. 

It said in a statement (via Variety): “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. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”

The Academy, meanwhile, has said it “does not condone violence of any form”. 

“Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world,” it added in a statement posted on Twitter following the broadcast. 

Shortly after the altercation, Will was announced as the recipient of the Best Actor category for his performance in King Richard, marking his first ever Oscar win.

During his acceptance speech, he apologised “to the Academy and my fellow nominees”, adding: “Thank you for this honour... I hope the Academy invites me back. Thank you.”