In the aftermath of Will Smith’s charged encounter with Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards, comedians have rallied around the stand-up comic after he was slapped onstage by the Oscar-winning King Richard star for telling an ill-conceived joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. Kathy Griffin, Joy Behar and the Lucas Brothers are among the comedy world stars who have defended Rock on Twitter. Now comedian-turned-actor Jim Carrey has added his voice to the debate, condemning Smith’s actions — and the response of the other Hollywood celebrities in the room — in forceful terms during an interview with CBS Mornings host Gayle King.
“I was sickened,” the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 star remarked during the interview, which was recorded on March 28 but only recently made available online. “I was sickened by the standing ovation. I felt like Hollywood is just spineless en masse. It really felt like: ‘Oh, this is really a clear indication that we’re not the cool club anymore.'”
Jump to the 3:59 mark to see Jim Carrey’s CBS Mornings interview
Carrey also made it clear that he felt Smith should have faced more serious repercussions for striking Rock, including possible arrest. Academy sources told People that Smith’s removal from the ceremony was “definitely discussed seriously” in the immediate aftermath of their encounter, while the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that Rock declined to press charges.
“He didn’t want the hassle,” Carrey speculated about why the comedian didn’t pursue legal action. “I would have announced this morning that I was suing Will for $200 million because that video is going to be there forever. It’s going to be ubiquitous. That insult is going to last a very long time.”
Although they never shared the screen together, Carrey and Smith were two of the biggest movie stars of the 1990s, and both successfully made inroads into more dramatic territory after the peak of their comedy careers. Prior to his King Richard win, Smith received Best Actor nominations for 2001’s Ali and 2007’s The Pursuit of Happyness, while Carrey’s seven career Golden Globe nominations include nods for 1999’s The Truman Show and 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
In his CBS Mornings interview, Carrey stressed that he “doesn’t have anything against Will Smith,” but holds him responsible for seizing the Oscar night spotlight away from the winners. “It cast a pall over everybody’s shining moment last night,” he remarked. “A lot of people worked really hard to get to that place and to have their moment in the sun and to get their award for the really hard work they did.”
“It is no mean feat to go through all of the stuff you have to go through when you’re nominated for an Oscar,” Carrey continued. “It’s a gauntlet of devotion that you have to do. It was just a selfish moment that cast a pall over the whole thing.”
