Actor and producer Alec Baldwin shared his thoughts on the incident at this year’s Oscars on social media. Will Smith, who later won the Academy Award for Best Actor, stormed onto the stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock after he joked about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s baldness.
Alec Baldwin, most recently in the headlines for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his western film Rust, began berating the Oscars producers for not looking after their sheep.
“I don’t read much about how or if the producers cared for Chris,” Baldwin wrote on social media on March 29. “But I love you, Chris Rock,” he continued. “And I’m sorry the Oscars morphed into The Jerry Springer Show.”
Will Smith and the Violence Discussion
Baldwin’s fans seem to largely agree with his post. One user writes: “Yes! I’m sorry, but Will Smith should have been escorted out of the room.” Another user added, “Don’t applaud people who use violence. Despite a thousand things that could be done, the one who chose violence and then spoke about concepts like ‘masculinity’ and ‘family’ received an award.”
Alec Baldwin continues to be criticized
Some seem to have forgotten that the actor himself is still involved in the investigation into the death of the cinematographer who died on the set of the western he produced, Rust, from a gunshot containing real ammunition is. Though Baldwin didn’t fire the shot, more juicy details have come out in recent weeks.
During filming, just hours before the fatal incident that also injured the director, staff went on strike over safety breaches and poor working conditions on set. Baldwin was also noticed by an insensitive apology to the victim’s family after the incident.
Lawsuit against Baldwin
The Hutchins family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin, his co-producers and several crew members amid the Santa Fe County investigation into the shooting.
Will Smith has since publicly apologized to Chris Rock. And the Academy, which awards the Oscars, has also launched a formal investigation into the attack.