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Will Smith publicly apologized to comedian Chris Rock in a social media post after Smith slapped him during the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday.
“Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear, and I reacted emotionally,” Smith wrote in a post on Instagram.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong,” Smith added. “I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be.”
Smith smacked Rock on the stage during the show when the comedian joked about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s short hair.
Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, a medical ailment that causes hair loss, about which she has been vocal and tried to raise awareness over the years.
He apologized to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as his other nominees as he won the Oscar later in the evening.
The Academy said Monday that it opposes Smith's behavior during Sunday's Oscars and intends to conduct a formal investigation into them.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Rock declined to file a police complaint against Smith.
Picture Credits: Fox 13