Gayle King Says She's 'Pulling' for Chris Rock Following 'Unfortunate' Oscars Incident (Exclusive)

Gilbert Gottfried showed support for Chris Rock in his final days. Gottfried, one of the most recognizable voices in show business, died after a long illness on Tuesday. He was 67.

Billy Crystal called Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards "an assault." The nine-time Oscars host spoke about the "disturbing incident" during an appearance on "Back on the Record" with Bob Costas on HBO Max. Smith slapped Rock in the face on stage after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head. "It was a most disturbing incident, for sure," Crystal told Costas.

Will Smith has now resigned from the Academy following the viral incident he was involved in at the Oscars. The acclaimed actor slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face during the ceremony held on Sunday, March 27, in response to a joke made about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Will Smith rocked the Oscars by slapping presenter, Chris Rock, in the face, he has resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The King Richard star issued a statement via People which read: "I have directly responded to the Academy's disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. MORE: Chris Rock breaks silence on Will Smith Oscars altercation: 'I'm still processing what happened'"My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home.

Will Packer is opening up about Will Smith's altercation with Chris Rock at the awards show last Sunday in a new interview with set to air Friday. aired a clip from the interview during their broadcast Thursday night, and Packer explained that LAPD officers were at the Dolby Theatre, and were willing to take Smith into custody after he struck Rock in the face during the ceremony.«They were saying, ‘This is battery.’ That was the word they used in that moment,» Packer recalled. «They said, ‘We will go get him.

Minnie Driver has called out the Academy for its lack of action after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday. "Got a letter from @TheAcademy today addressing members about the events on Sunday and how they are proceeding," the actress tweeted. "No explanation of why no one stepped in to assist Chris Rock in the aftermath; why he was abandoned by producers and The Academy, and expected to just carry on." The 52-year-old’s call-out came a day after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed that Smith was asked to leave Sunday’s ceremony after hitting the presenter, but refused to do so.

Joseph Patel criticized Will Smith and Chris Rock for the events that led up to "Summer of Soul" winning the Oscar for best documentary feature Sunday night. The "Summer of Soul" producer accused Smith of robbing the category of its moment after he slapped Rock on stage before the comedian announced the award. "It robbed the category of its moment," the producer wrote in since-deleted tweets, People magazine noted.

Sunday night’s Oscar ceremony.Director Questlove, alongside producers Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein, scored the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature during the show. But their moment was outshined by Will Smith slapping the soul out of Rock, 57, just minutes before the former announced the doc as the winner. As the foursome walked up to accept their statuette, the comedian announced them as “four white guys.” Patel slammed Rock in a lengthy, now-deleted Twitter thread.

A heavy moment. Willow Smith subtly weighed in after her father, Will Smith, slapped Chris Rock in the face at the 2022 Oscars.

2022 Oscars will forever be remembered for the so-called slap heard 'round the world, when Will Smith stormed onstage and slapped presenter Chris Rock in the face before returning to his seat and proceeding to cuss him out, all over a joke Rock made at the expense of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.The moment was unsettling, unexpected, confusing and changed the atmosphere for the remainder of the evening. But as chaotic as things were in the theater, a source tells ET that it was much more so backstage.«Behind the scenes there were a lot of people, different voices and opinions all weighing in on what had just happened, and what was the right course of action,» the source says of the moments immediately following the altercation.The moment came as a surprise to all involved, and even the producers of the show apparently had to figure out if this was an unplanned stunt between Smith and Rock, and if Rock was hurt.«There were just minutes to first figure out if it was a stunt,» the source recalls, «and then try and get people on the same page including the producers, ABC, the Academy, reps — who were not all in the same place physically or looking at their phones in real time.»The sources adds that «people were checking that Chris Rock was OK.... and to see if Chris even wanted to press charges.»In a statement to ET on Sunday night, after the Oscars came to a close, the LAPD said they were aware of the incident but that «the individual involved has declined to file a police report.»«LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program,» the statement read.

LIVE – Updated at 13:21This year’s Oscars featured shocks, sighs and surprises – but all anyone will care about is a slap. The Academy Awards took place on Sunday night, with films including The Power of the Dog, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza and Coda battling it out in the big categories. The biggest story of the night had almost nothing to do with the awards: a shocking altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock sparked by a joke about Smith’s wife Jada.

Sunday's shocking turn of events at the 2022 Oscars, Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in the face is all anyone was talking about on social media, and proved to be rich comedic fodder for late-night talk show hosts.One host who had particular insight into how wild the night must have truly been was Jimmy Kimmel — who famously hosted the Oscars ceremony in 2017, during which the wrong Best Picture winner was announced, with presenters mistakenly naming instead of the real winner, «I'm a little bummed because now I've hosted only the second craziest Oscars of all time! I only had three years to enjoy that,» Kimmel quipped during his opening monologue.«A lot of my friends have been texting me asking what I would have done if I was host.

Sunday's shocking turn of events at the 2022 Oscars, Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in the face is all anyone was talking about on social media, and proved to be rich comedic fodder for late night talk show hosts.One host who had particular insight into how wild the night must have truly been was Jimmy Kimmel — who famously hosted the Oscars ceremony in 2017, during which the wrong Best Picture winner was announced, with presenters mistakenly naming instead of the real winner, «I'm a little bummed because now I've hosted only the second craziest Oscars of all time! I only had three years to enjoy that,» Kimmel quipped during his opening monologue.«A lot of my friends have been texting me asking what I would have done if I was host.

The morning after a raucous Oscarcast which saw Will Smith slap presenter Chris Rock in the face over his joke about the King Richard Oscar winner wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has issued another statement.