Chris Rock Opts Not To Press Charges After Settling Feud With Will Smith

Chris Rock has reportedly declined to press charges against Will Smith after the King Richard star struck him on stage at the Oscars.

The incident occurred during last night’s ceremony after Rock made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Rising from his seat to slap Rock across the face, Smith shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”

According to Variety, a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that Rock did not wish to pursue any legal action against Smith.

“LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program,” read the 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.”

Rock’s decision not to press charges comes after P Diddy – who also served as a presenter at the awards – indicated that he and Smith had settled their differences.

“That’s not a problem. That’s over. I can confirm that,” Diddy told Page Six at the Vanity Fair After Party. “It’s all love. They’re brothers.”

Despite the altercation, Smith went on to win the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard. Taking to the stage for a second time, the 53-year-old apologised to the Academy for his behaviour.

“In this business, you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you and you gotta smile and you gotta pretend like that’s okay,” he said. “I want to apologise to the Academy. I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees.”

Will Smith: "I want to apologize to the Academy and I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees — this is a beautiful moment and I'm not crying about winning an award…it's about being able to shine light."#Oscarshttps://t.co/EViXaQY1NZ pic.twitter.com/NhyqzDtkf0

— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 28, 2022

“This is a beautiful moment, and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me; it’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people.” He added, “Love will make you do crazy things.”

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