It was the slap seen ’round the world: Will Smith’s on-stage assault of comedian Chris Rock made international headlines March 27, garnering more attention than the Oscars themselves.
Smith has since made at least three major apologies: once during his acceptance speech on stage, after the ceremony to Rock, and again when he resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences on Friday, calling his actions “shocking, painful, and inexcusable,” according to The Associated Press.
The news cycle will move on, but Smith may not be able to—at least not as he did before the now-infamous incident.
Netflix is backing away from Fast and Loose, set to “tell the story of a crime boss who loses his memory after an attack,” The Hollywood Reporter said Sunday. The project lost its director shortly before the Oscars. Netflix had “put out an urgent call for another director to take over” but appears to have moved the project to the back burner after the incident, the website reports.
Additionally, Smith had received 40 pages of the script for Bad Boys 4 prior to the Oscars, but work on the movie will now pause, the website reported, citing an unnamed source.
“Change takes time, and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason,” Smith said Friday in a statement announcing his resignation from the Academy, the AP reported.
Rock cracked a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at the March 27 ceremony, referring to her as “G.I. Jane 2.” Pinkett Smith has an autoimmune disorder, alopecia, that causes her to lose her hair. Her head was shaved closely, similar to that of Demi Moore when she starred in the 1997 film “G.I. Jane.” Pinkett Smith has been vocal about her experience with the disorder.
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