Andrew Garfield addressed images of himself texting during the Oscars ceremony after Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock on stage.
Garfield, appearing on ABC's The View on Thursday (28 April), was asked “what perhaps” he could have been texting about.
“That’s none of your business,” Garfield joked in response before expressing regret for missing Kevin Costner’s introduction to the Best Director nominees, which followed the slap.
“I feel so bad because Kevin Costner’s introducing the director nominees in the most beautiful and elegant way, and I’m like, ‘There’s no way I’m going to be on camera during this,’” Garfield said. Photos of the actor on his phone quickly turned into a viral meme.
The actor explained: “Everyone’s texting me, asking me, like, what the vibe in the room is. At that moment, my friends took priority over Kevin.”
Garfield and Smith were both nominated for Best Actor at the 94th Academy Awards, with Smith going on to win for his turn as Venus and Serena Williams’ father in King Richard.
Garfield then refused to comment on the slap itself, saying: “There’s no need for me to weigh in on that. It’s every possible version of the discussion has happened, and I have no interest in adding my voice to something that’s already been said well.”
Rock’s mother recently said it felt like Smith physically hurt her too when he slapped her son after the comedian had made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved haircut.
Smith apologised and resigned from the Academy on 1 April. On 8 April, the Academy moved to ban Smith from Oscars ceremonies for the next 10 years.
Pinkett Smith addressed the incident in the trailer for the new series of her Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk, saying: “Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focusing on deep healing.”
