Whoopi Goldberg has insisted that there will be ‘big consequences’ over Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars.
In shocking scenes, the King Richard stormed on stage at the Dolby Theatre in LA, and hit comedian Chris Rock after he made a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair – something he has since apologized for.
Shortly after, he collected the best actor Oscar for his stint in the biopic, with questions over whether the statue will be rescinded.
Speaking about the incident on during a segment of today’s episode of The View, Whoopi – a governor for the Academy Awards – vowed that ‘nobody is okay’ with what went down.
After confirming that Will’s Oscar will not be revoked, she told her fellow panelists: ‘Let me say this, there are consequences. There are big consequences because nobody is okay with what happened. Nobody, nobody, nobody.
‘What’s happening is people are now starting to calm down and say, “Wait a minute, what could have triggered this?”’
The Ghost actress also shed light on why no one came to comfort Chris or ran to his aid on stage.
‘The thing I also need to tell people is that the reason no one got up to go comfort Chris is because they weren’t going to let anybody else on stage,’ she continued, before stating: ‘There were people there for Chris.’
Whoopi revealed that people approached Will as they were worried that he was ‘having a break’, and feared that they would need to remove him from the audience.
Discussing why he wasn’t asked to leave to over the slap, she added: ‘Because that would have been another 15-20 minute explanation of why we’re taking the Black man out, five seconds before they’re about to decide whether he’s won an Oscar or not.
‘I believe [producer] Will Packer made the right decision. He said, “Let’s get to the rest of this so we can deal with it wholeheartedly.”
‘This is not the first time craziness has happened onstage, but this is the first time we’ve seen anybody assault anybody onstage.’
The Academy has since launched a formal investigation into the scenes, which saw Will confront Chris after he made a joke about Jada’s buzzcut hairstyle.
It is well known that the Gotham actress suffers from a hair loss condition, and was visibly unimpressed with the quip.
Will stormed the stage and slapped Chris across the face before returning to his seat, yelling from the audience: ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth.’
He has since issued an apology over the incident on Instagram, explaining that his behavior was ‘unacceptable’.
‘Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,’ he began a lengthy statement. ‘My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable.
‘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.
‘I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.
‘I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family.
‘I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.’
Will concluded: ‘I am a work in progress.’
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