Jim Carrey has responded to Will Smith hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars.
The actor is among the latest in a line of celebrities who have weighed in on the dramatic moment, which took place after Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head, referring to her as “GI Jane”.
In an interview with CBS This Morning on March 29, Carrey expressed his disapproval of how the situation was handled, especially with Smith still winning Best Actor for King Richard shortly after.
“I was sickened by the standing ovation. Hollywood is just spineless en masse and it really felt like this is a really clear indication that we aren’t the cool club anymore,” Carrey said.
The host, Gayle King, further speculated: “If anyone else had walked from the audience and done that, they would’ve been escorted out by security or maybe even arrested.”
To which Carrey interrupted: “He should have been.”
When King addressed Rock’s refusal to press charges, Carrey said: “I would have announced this morning that I was suing Will for $200m because that video is going to be there forever.”
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He added: “If you want to yell from the audience and show disapproval or say something on Twitter, you do not have the right to walk up on stage and smack somebody in the face ‘cos they said words.”
King then suggested the incident “escalated”, leading Carrey to interject: “It didn’t escalate, it came out of nowhere because Will has something going on inside him that’s frustrated.
“I don’t have anything against Will Smith. He’s done great things. But that was not a good moment. It cast a pall over everybody’s shining moment.”
While there has been no punishment for Smith so far, the Academy has said it may discipline him for the incident.
Smith has since issued an apology to Rock. The comedian, however, has yet to publicly accept it.
Find the full list of 2022 Oscar winners here. See the latest updates and reactions from the dramatic ceremony here, and read about the biggest talking points here.