Chris Rock, who was slapped and cursed out by Will Smith onstage after the former made a joke about Smith's wife's hair during the Oscars ceremony on Sunday night, declined to file a police report, according to the LAPD.
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. The Red Table Talk host has spoken candidly about her hair loss from alopecia in the past.
Smith then walked onstage and struck the comedian, yelling "keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth." The profanity was bleeped out on ABC and left audiences at the Dolby Theater stunned. However, uncensored video footage from a Japanese broadcaster went viral on social media with nearly 27 million views.
LAPD Issues Statement
In the wake of the incident, the LAPD released a statement saying it was aware of the incident but was not pursuing an investigation as the individual involved had declined to file a police report.
"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," the LAPD said in a statement.
"If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report," the department added.
The Academy Condones Violence, Smith Apologizes
After the incident,The Academy – the awards body that runs the Oscars – tweeted, "The Academy 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."
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. P Diddy also tried to defuse the situation, saying: "Will and Chris, we're going to solve this like family at the Gold Party."
