The Screen Actors Guild suggested it would take action against Will Smith after he appeared to slap Chris Rock during Sunday night’s Academy Awards broadcast.
Smith, who won Best Actor for “King Richard,” slapped Rock just minutes before after Rock made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
“As the union representing presenters and other performers working on the Oscars, SAG-AFTRA is focused on ensuring our members always work in a safe environment,” the Screen Actors Guild said in a statement. “Violence or physical abuse in the workplace is never appropriate and the union condemns any such conduct.”
It continued to say that the incident between Smith and Rock “was unacceptable,” adding the Guild has “been in contact with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC about this incident and will work to ensure this behavior is appropriately addressed.”
On Monday evening, Smith issued an apology to Rock over the incident—as the Academy, which oversees the awards show, said it would investigate the matter.
The Academy issued a statement on Monday, which read, “The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct, and California law.”
It’s not clear what punishment Smith could face, if any, over the incident.
Rock, for his part, hasn’t issued a public statement and, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, declined to press charges against Smith.
“LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program,” the department told CNN in a statement. “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.”
Meanwhile, a White House spokeswoman said that President Joe Biden didn’t see the Oscars incident involving Will Smith and Chris Rock and has no comment.
“I know the president was not able to watch the Oscars—didn’t see it,” Bedingfield said in response to a question on Tuesday. “I don’t have any official comment from the White House on the altercation.”
