Daniel Radcliffe says he's 'dramatically bored' of hearing opinions on Will Smith, Chris Rock's altercation
Apr 01, 2022
Washington [US], April 1 : It has been a few days since the 94th Academy Awards took place, and there's one moment from the ceremony that still has the internet abuzz. Shortly before Will Smith took home his first Oscar for his performance in 'King Richard', he went on stage to slap Chris Rock over a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.
While several celebrities have weighed in on the incident, actor Daniel Radcliffe said he's "already dramatically bored" of hearing responses to Smith slapping Rock during the Oscars and refused to offer his own two cents, reported Variety.
During a Thursday appearance on Good Morning Britain, the actor spoke about his new comedy 'The Lost City'. During the appearance, the 'Harry Potter' star was also asked to comment on the Smith-Rock altercation but refrained from giving his take on it.
"I saw it. I'm just so already dramatically bored of hearing people's opinions about it that I just don't want to be another opinion adding to it," said the 32-year-old actor when asked about the incident.
On being asked whether he has ever experienced awkward moments himself at award ceremonies during his career, Radcliffe said, "I probably have. ... When you're going on stuff as a kid, you're never quite sure if the joke's with you or you're the butt of the joke."
The actor added, "So you sort of have a mode of just being like, 'I'll just keep smiling and laughing and hopefully this'll end soon!' "
Radcliffe is the latest celebrity to be asked about the altercation, which occurred while Rock was presenting Best Documentary Feature. The comedian seized the moment to crack a few jokes, including one about Pinkett Smith's shaved head.
He compared the 50-year-old actor's appearance to that of Demi Moore's look in 'G.I. Jane'. Jada, who recently opened up about living with alopecia areata, was visibly upset, rolling her eyes from her seat.
Seconds later, Smith walked onstage and approached Rock, smacking him in front of the audience. The 53-year-old actor also shouted to a stunned Rock, "Keep my wife's name out of your f---ing mouth."
Smith then remained seated with his wife at his table for the rest of the event. Rock has so far declined to press charges.
When Smith won Best Actor later in the ceremony, he apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees but didn't mention Rock by name. In his tearful speech, he spoke about acting out of love and protection, saying, "Love makes you do crazy things."
The 'King Richard' actor went on to publicly apologise to Rock on social media the following day.
On Monday, the Academy said in a statement that it "condemns the actions of Mr Smith at last night's show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law."
The Academy then said days later that Smith was actually asked to leave after the incident but "refused." The organisation added, "We also recognize we could have handled the situation differently."
The 94th Academy Awards, which took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, was hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes.