LOS ANGELES — Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock on Monday, less than 24 hours after slapping the comedian for telling an ill-conceived joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, during the 94th Academy Awards telecast — an altercation viewed around the world.
"Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive," Smith said in a post on his Instagram account. "My behavior at last night's Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable."
On Sunday night, Smith apologized to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but he stopped short of apologizing to Rock, who joked about Pinkett Smith's closely shaved head. In the joke, Rock said: "Jada, I love ya. 'G.I. Jane 2,' can't wait to see it," drawing a comparison to the 1997 action film where Demi Moore plays a military member with a shaved head.
