Will Smith points to his Oscar as he arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party during the 94th Academy Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., March 27, 2022. Picture: Reuters/Danny Moloshok
Will Smith will not face charges for punching Chris Rock.
The 53-year-old actor was at the Academy Awards ceremony and took offense when Chris made fun of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaven-headed look, so marched to the stage to hit him in the face, but the Los Angeles Police Department will not investigate the incident because no complaint has been made.
In a statement, LAPD said: "LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards programme.
“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 57-year-old comedian was presenting the award for the Best Documentary Feature prize on Sunday and made reference Jada's shaven head by comparing it to the buzzcut sported by Demi Moore in the 1997 war film “G.I. Jane”.
Although Will - who went on to win Best Actor for his performance in 'King Richard' - was seen laughing at first, Jada looked unimpressed and Will then walked to the stage, slapped the presenter and walked away again
Chris said: "Oh Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s**** out of me."
Will was then muted as he shouted from his seat: "Take my wife's name out of your f****** mouth."
Chris said: "Wow dude. It was a 'G.I. Jane' joke."
Following the attack, The Academy condemned Will's actions as they reminded viewers that the aim is to "celebrate" deserved winners from the world of film.
A statement on Twitter read: "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."
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