The 94th Academy Awards was one of the biggest movie events of the year that everyone was looking forward to. It was at the centre of attention for its wonderful collection of movies as well as actors, actresses, directors, cinematographers, etc. It was also a long time after that the award show was to get a host with Chris Rock taking on the prestigious position. After being nominated twice and not winning, people all over the world were rooting to see Will Smith bag the Best Actor award and make headlines during his third nomination. Win he did but he made the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Smith on Sunday caused a stir that changed the tone of an otherwise uplifting Oscars ceremony when he stormed the stage and struck comedian Chris Rock in the face. The moment came after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. While presenting the award for best documentary, Rock joked, "Jada I love you, 'G.I. Jane 2,' can't wait to see it." The camera cut to an unamused Jada Pinkett Smith, who has been open about her struggle with alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that leads to hair loss. As Rock started to manoeuvre past his poorly received joke, he laughed to brush it off as Will Smith walked towards him on stage and slapped Rock on the face after which Smith said twice during the incident yelling, "Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth!", This surged a huge amount of controversy all over the world.

Will Smith has now issued an apology for striking Chris Rock at the ceremony. The actor took to his Instagram and shared a post with both the caption and image(s) saying one thing -- "Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness. I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress. Sincerely, Will."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith)