Andrew Garfield spoke out about that photo of him at the Oscars that went viral on Thursday, and confirmed that yes, he was texting his friends in that moment. But he feels really guilty about it.
In the photo, Garfield can be seen texting under his table, as those around him watch what’s happening on stage. The image quickly went viral, as fans joked that Garfield was likely texting or tweeting about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock just a few minutes prior. And it turns out, those fans weren’t too far off the mark.
While appearing on “The View” on Thursday to promote his new FX series “Under the Banner of Heaven” with co-star Daisy Edgar Jones, Garfield explained what led to that moment.
“So, I feel so bad because, you know, Kevin Costner’s introducing the director nominees in the most beautiful and elegant way, and I’m like ‘There’s no way I’m gonna be on camera during this,’” he prefaced. “And everyone’s texting me, asking me, you know, what they’re asking me, like what the vibe in the room is. At that moment, my friends took priority over Kevin. But I feel really bad about that.”
Host Joy Behar pushed him to outright say he was texting about the slap, but Garfield simply laughed and brushed her off. But when she pressed a bit harder, asking point blank for his thoughts on the slap, Garfield got a bit more serious, and refused to comment in the same manner he has thus far.
“Everything’s been said. There’s no need for me to weigh in on that,” Garfield said. “Every possible version of the discussion has happened, and I have no interest in adding my voice to something that’s already been so well spoken [about].”
At that, Behar praised him, and warned him that if he did, people might take his words out of context or exaggerate them, as they did with his recent comments about taking a break from acting.
“Thank you for the advice, Joy,” Garfield replied almost cheekily. “Thank you.”
