Will Smith has apologized to Chris Rock after he slapped him at the Oscars on March 27, saying his behavior was "unacceptable and inexcusable," per the BBC.
"I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris," he said in a statement. "I was out of line and I was wrong."
The development happened after the Oscars film academy condemned Smith over the incident and announced a formal review.
In an Instagram post, Smith—who won his first Oscar for portraying Richard Williams (the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams) moments after assaulting Rock on the Academy Awards stage—said, in part, "Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive." He also apologized to the Academy and the Williams family.
Most celebrities condemned Smith's slap—but at least one came to his defense: Janet Hubert, who played the original Aunt Viv alongside Smith on the '90 show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. According to Entertainment Weekly News, Hubert wrote on Instagram, "So PROUD OF YOU! Yes, there is only so much one can take...sometimes you have to slap back. Celebrate the win...nothing else matters. Both actions were incorrect but Chris didn't need to go there."
At the ceremony, Rock was presenting the award for best documentary and made an off-the-script joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, referencing her shaved head. (Pinkett Smith had previously detailed her battle with the hair-loss condition alopecia.) Smith then stormed the stage, slapped Rock and sat back down before yelling at him, "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth."
