We should be talking about Will Smith winning his first Oscar for his role in King Richard but instead, the headlines are all about his already infamous slapping of Chris Rock after the comedian made an in bad taste joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith. Will there be consequences for the behavior? Perhaps in the court of public opinion but there won’t be any criminal ramifications because Chris Rock has declined to file a police report for assault.
Per Deadline, the Los Angeles Police Department had officers on the scene because the Oscars was a well-guarded event and they spoke to Rock soon after the telecast ended. At this time, Rock has decided to not press charges but he does have up to six months to file a report if he chooses to change his mind. A simple assault is categorized as a misdemeanor in California and if Rock did press charges, Smith could’ve faced a fine of up to $100,000 and six months in jail. Here is what the Los Angeles Police Department had to say in a statement:
“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.”
Hollywood, most notably other comedians, were not too pleased with Smith’s actions on Oscar night. Some thought that it sets a dangerous precedent for individuals to use violence against comedians when they don’t like a joke. There were also some who thought the moment represented pure entitlement because Smith used violence, wasn’t reprimanded for it, and was awarded Best Actor soon after the incident. His being the winner was already a lock before the slap occurred but the timing and optics of it all made it just that much worse. You can check out some of the reactions on Twitter below!
The Academy also tweeted out that they do “not condone violence of any form” but the comments below their tweet call out The Academy for saying very little about the incident and also not shying away from showing it. A moment does like this does build buzz for the fledgling award ceremony and buzz does build interest. Not sure this is the buzz they wanted but I’m sure they’ll take what they can get.
What are YOUR thoughts on Chris Rock declining to file a police report?