Daniel Radcliffe is “dramatically bored” of Will Smith Oscars slap opinions
'The Lost City' actor said he doesn't want to add to the discourse
Daniel Radcliffe has said that he’s “dramatically bored” of hearing people’s opinions about Will Smith slapping presenter Chris Rock onstage at the 2022 Oscars.
The actor was speaking about his new film ‘The Lost City’ when he was asked what his response was to the assault, which happened on Sunday (March 27) after Rock made a joke about Smith‘s wife.
During an appearance on Good Morning Britain yesterday (March 31), host Susanna Reid asked Radcliffe if he saw the moment and what his thought were about the controversial incident.
“I saw it,” he replied, “but I’m just so already dramatically bored of hearing people’s opinion about it that I just don’t want to be another opinion adding to it.”
Reid then asked Radcliffe if he’s seen any “awkward moments” at awards in the past, to which he replied that he has taught himself to “keep smiling” over time, as a defensive mechanism.
“I think, as a kid as well, when you’re going on stuff as a kid, you’re not very sure if the joke is with you or if you’re the butt of a joke, so you have a mode of just, ‘I’ll just keep smiling and laughing and hopefully this will end soon,'” he said.
During the 94th Academy Awards, Smith slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke alluding to his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who’d shaved her hair presumably due to her alopecia condition.
When Smith sat back down he shouted at Rock: “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth”.
Approximately an hour later, Smith accepted the Academy Award for Best Actor (‘King Richard’) and apologised to the awards body and viewers for his behaviour. He later apologised directly to Rock.
“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,” Smith said in a statement on Monday (March 28). “I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong.”
During a stand-up show in Boston on Wednesday (March 27) Rock addressed the incident for the first time, saying that he was “still processing what happened”.
After acknowledging that it could have done more to defuse proceedings, the Academy has since alleged that Smith rebuffed a request by event organisers for him to depart.
“Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” the Academy said in a new statement [via The Guardian]. “While we would like to clarify that Mr Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognise we could have handled the situation differently.”
Smith has been given an April 18 deadline to defend himself in writing, as some calls have come for him to have his award rescinded. The case is expected to drag on for some weeks.