There is a saying that a week is a long time in politics, but perhaps a new phrase needs to be coined to suggest that a day is a long week in Hollywood as the explosive feud between Will Smith and Chris Rock is said to already be ancient history.
Drama exploded on the stage of the 94th annual Academy Awards in Tinseltown on Sunday night when 53-year-old Will took a swing at 57-year-old Chris live on stage, slapping him square in the jaw to the shock of the A-List audience.
The violent incident was sparked when Chris made an ill-advised joke about Will’s 50-year-old wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, poking fun at her bald head despite the fact she has previously opened up about suffering from alopecia.
The joke prompted Will to storm the stage and slap Chris across the face before he returned to his seat and repeatedly screamed “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!”.
But now, according to music superstar Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, the boys have already proverbially kissed and made up.
The 52-year-old star told PageSix: “That’s not a problem. That’s over. I can confirm that.”
He added: “It’s all love. They’re brothers.”
Diddy’s claims therefore suggest that what looked like an irreparable fall out has already been resolved half a day after it unfolded in front of the world’s cameras.
Will himself had previously apologised for his vicious outburst as he subsequently won the Best Actor award moments after the incident.
Fighting back tears during his acceptance speech, he said: "I want to apologise to the Academy, I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees."
He continued: "This is a beautiful moment and I'm not crying for winning an award, it's not about winning an award for me, it's about being able to shine a light on all of the people.
"Art imitates life, I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams, but love will make you do crazy things."
Meanwhile, Los Angeles police confirmed they will not be arresting Will as Chris has refused to press charges.
A spokesperson for the force says it is "aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards programme...[which] 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."
Chris’s jibe at Jada – in which he compared her bald head to G.I Jane – is just the latest occasion where he has used the Smith family as a punchline.
Back in 2016, while hosting the main Oscars show, Chris joked that Jada had boycotted the show after Will failed to be nominated for his role in the film Concussion.
He quipped: “Jada got mad, said she's not coming. Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna ’s panties. I wasn't invited,.
"You get mad. It's not fair that Will was this good and didn't get nominated. It's also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West."
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