Comedians of all stripes have rallied to Chris Rock’s defense after he was physically assaulted on stage during Sunday night’s Oscars. But no one has come out against Will Smith as strongly as fellow superstar Jim Carrey.
During an interview with CBS This Morning’s Gayle King that was ostensibly intended to promote his upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog sequel, Carrey pulled no metaphorical punches when sharing his reaction to the moment that everyone can’t stop talking about.
“I was sickened by the standing ovation,” Carrey said. “I felt like Hollywood is just spineless, en masse, and it really felt like this is a really clear indication that we aren’t the cool club anymore.”
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The actor, who has own controversial history when it comes to promoting anti-vaccine views, went on to say that Smith “should have been” escorted out of the room and arrested on the spot. And while Rock likely “didn’t want the hassle” of pressing charges, Carrey said, “I’d 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,” he continued, saying there were other ways for Smith to “show disapproval” of Rock’s joke. “But you do not have the right to walk up on stage and smack somebody in the face because they said words.”
And when Gayle King described the situation as something that “escalated” to violence, Carrey pushed back. “It didn’t escalate, it came out of nowhere!” he replied. “Because Will has something going on inside him that’s frustrated. And I wish him the best, I really do. I don’t have anything against Will Smith. He’s done great things, but that was not a good moment. It cast a pall over everyone’s shining moment last night.”
“It was just a selfish moment that cast a pall over the whole thing,” he concluded.
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