© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Read Will Smith's apology to Chris Rock

Will Smith slaps actor and comedian Chris Rock onstage during the Oscars.
Robyn Beck
/
AFP via Getty Images
Will Smith slaps actor and comedian Chris Rock onstage during the Oscars.

Will Smith has publicly apologized to Chris Rock for slapping him across the face on the Oscars stage Sunday night.

"Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night's Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable," Smith wrote on Instagram.

The apology comes hours after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday condemned Smith's actions and launched an official inquiry into the incident.

The altercation between Smith and Rock happened after the comedian made a joke at the expense of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

When Rock took the stage to present the Oscar for best documentary feature, he directed his comedy to the couple. Rock said he was looking forward to seeing Pinkett Smith in G.I. Jane 2 — making fun of her shaved head. She has shaved her head because of the hair loss condition alopecia.

Smith wrote in his apology, "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."

Pinkett Smith has been public about the fact that she is living with alopecia and has been candid about it: "Me and this alopecia are going to be friends ... period!" she wrote on Instagram last December.

The Oscars took a tense turn after the slap. But Smith later won the best actor Oscar for his role in King Richard.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Jaclyn Diaz is a reporter on Newshub.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content