The White House officially does not have a comment on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.
When asked whether the White House condemns the non-infamous incident, Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said that President Joe Biden did not watch the 2022 Oscars. “I don’t have any official comment from the White House on the altercation,” said Bedingfield. “I know the president was not able to watch the Oscars — didn’t see it. So I don’t have anything. I don’t have any official comment from him or from the White House on this.”
.@WHCommsDir Kate Bedingfield on #Oscars incident between Chris Rock and Will Smith: “I don’t have any official comment from the White House on the altercation. I know the president was not able to watch the Oscars. Didn’t see it.” pic.twitter.com/N2U5gMbKfV
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 29, 2022
The ongoing controversy surrounding the altercation between Smith and Rock has swirled for several days following the conclusion of the 2022 Academy Awards. The incident itself occurred after Rock made a joke regarding Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, prompting Will to storm the stage and slap the host. In the wake of the incident, the Academy Awards has launched an investigation into Smith’s actions who may be facing disciplinary action despite winning the award for Best Actor during the latest ceremony. Smith is accused of violating the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, including “inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the Academy.”
Smith has since publically apologized to Rock, noting that he regrets his actions. “Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about [Jada Pinkett Smith’s] medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” said Smith. “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 incident has earned the ire of several major celebrities, including Mark Hamill, Kathy Griffith and The Batman‘s Zoë Kravitz. Legendary comedian Jim Carrey recently shared his thoughts on the so-called “slap heard around the world,” describing Hollywood’s reaction as “sickening” while noting that the altercation ruined the Oscars ceremony. “That insult is gonna last a very long time. If you want to yell from the audience and show disapproval or say something on Twitter [that’s fine],” said Carrey. “But you do not have the right to walk up on stage and smack somebody in the face because they said words. [The slap] came out of nowhere because Will has something going on inside him that’s frustrated. I wish him the best.”
Source: Twitter
About The Author
