Los Angeles, March 28 (IANS) If Will Smith was feeling any remorse about slapping comedian and show host Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday night (U.S. Pacific Time), he certainly did not show it when he hit the dance floor at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Radhika Jones.
The 53-year-old best actor winner, who took home the trophy for his performance in “King Richard”, arrived at the party just after midnight with a large entourage and immediately hit the dance floor.
And as seen clearly in a video shared by ‘Variety’ Executive Editor Ramin Setoodeh, as the DJ played a medley of Smith’s big hits from the 90s, the actor sang along to “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” and “Miami”, and shimmied in the middle of a mosh pit of his fans at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. All this while he was swinging his gold statue in the air.
“It’s all about love,” Smith told ‘Variety’, when asked how he was doing.
Smith carried on as if the night had been a purely celebratory affair, reports ‘Variety’. He topped off his win by posing for selfies, shaking hands and fist bumping strangers. And he spoke to the wall-to-wall famous faces in the crowd.
Trevor Noah gave Smith a big hug. Ricky Martin thumped his chest before extending his congratulations. Cynthia Erivo made her way to Smith while holding hands with her rumoured girlfriend Lena Waithe. And Tony Goldwyn, the “Scandal” actor who also appears in “King Richard”, cornered Smith on the dance floor.
Smith wasn’t the only one who broke out the moves to honour the end of the Oscar season, ‘Variety’ adds.
Ariana DeBose, who won best supporting actress for “West Side Story” (and launched her career on TV’s “So You Think You Can Dance”), tore up another dance floor, as she cradled her Oscar in her arm. James Corden, standing in the expanded outdoor patio, performed a solo jig as he nibbled on an In-N-Out burger, the party’s snack food of choice.
Zendaya hung out with her “Dune” co-star Jason Momoa and “Euphoria” showrunner Sam Levinson and actor Angus Cloud. Australian actor Jacob Elordi, another member of the “Euphoria” ensemble, stayed away from the rest of the cast, choosing instead to chat with others.
Natalie Portman, who isn’t regularly seen at industry events, clocked an appearance with her husband Benjamin Millepied.
Academy reacts to Will Smith slap, says it doesn’t condone violence
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has responded to the Will Smith-Chris Rock slap episode that has overshadowed everything else that happened at the 94th Academy Awards.
It said in a statement tweeted on its official account: “The Academy does not condone violence of any form.” Then went on to say: “Tonight, we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.”
‘Variety’ reports that while presenting the best documentary feature award, Rock, a well-regarded comic actor, joked about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, starring in ‘G.I. Jane 2’ because of her bald head. He was referencing the 1997 movie ‘G.I. Jane’ in which Demi Moore appears with a shaved head.
Pinkett Smith has been open about her struggles with alopecia, a medical condition causes aggravated hair loss. Smith reacted to the joke by going up on stage, separated from where he was sitting by a foot, and slapping Rock. He then returned to his seat and shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth!”
Smith won Best Actor for ‘King Richard’ following the incident and issued an apology in a tearful acceptance speech. The actor said: “I want to apologise to the Academy. I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees. 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.”
The point to be noted here is that Smith did not apologise to Rock, the target of his wrathful behaviour that has overtaken the coverage of the otherwise carefully crafted event.
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