'Microcosm of our world': Goldie Hawn says Will Smith's Oscars slap 'indicative' of American culture
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Goldie Hawn opened up about her thoughts over Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, calling it a "microcosm of our world." The 77-year-old Oscar winner praised Rock for maintaining his composure after Smith did the "horrendous" deed that was televised globally.
Hawn also shared her disappointment over awards shows losing their elegance in retrospect of last year's Oscars. “It used to be elegant,” Hawn said of the annual Academy Awards ceremony to Variety. “I’m not old-fashioned, but sometimes jokes are off-color. And I’m missing reverence. Things have become politicized. I want to see people in awe. I want to see people believing again. I want to see people laughing more in a way that isn’t just at someone else’s expense", she said.
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'That was horrendous'
Hawn cited the shocking moment at the Oscars as a metaphor for many of the world's ills today. “It’s indicative of our culture right now,” she said. “I mean, you could look at it and say, ‘What the hell just happened?’ Somebody lost control. They lost their self-regulation. Their bigger brain wasn’t thinking, and they did something that was horrendous and also showed no remorse. That, to me, is a microcosm oftentimes of our world."
Despite the antic, the 'Overboard' star had only good things to say about the presenter of the night, Chris Rock. The 58-year-old comedian made a quick joke about the surreal moment while Smith was on his way back to his seat, where he yelled at Rock about the joke. "Chris was brilliant — totally held on to and controlled his emotions, was able to stand with dignity," said Hawn. "That’s an example of what we would like our world to look like. But, unfortunately, it isn’t right now.”
Did Will Smith apologize for the slap?
Smith reportedly did not get removed from the awards show's audience, and was able to give a speech when he won the best actor award for his performance in 'King Richard.' The 'Suicide Sqaud' actor later received a ton of backlash for not apologizing for the slap in his acceptance speech. Smith addressed the incident in late July 2022, when he posted a video on his social media. In the clip, Smith revealed why he did not apologize during his acceptance speech for best actor. "I was fogged out by that point," he said in the clip shared on his Instagram. "It’s all fuzzy. I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk and when he is, he will reach out. So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk."