Rishi Sunak has thrown his support behind Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock during Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony.
The Men In Black star stormed the stage before striking the comedian who had made comments about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s hair.
Chris Rock, 57, claimed that Jada’s hair was similar to G.I. Jane, a role Demi Moore famously shaved her head for.
However, Jada suffers from alopecia and her husband was not prepared to let the remark go unnoticed, after striking Rock he yelled: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”
Meanwhile, Jada remained at her seat but rolled her eyes as the cameras panned to her, despite Chris claiming it was supposed to be a “nice one”.
(Image: Getty Images)
Now, Rishi Sunak has shared his thoughts on the incident during a chat with BBC’s Newscast podcast, telling Laura Kuenssberg: “Someone said, ‘Joe Root, Will Smith, and me – not the best of weekends for any of us.
“But I feel, on reflection, both Will Smith and me having our wives attacked – at least I didn’t get up and slap anybody, which is good.”
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Will has since apologised for his actions, saying: “My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable.
“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
(Image: Getty Images)
The actor signed off, adding that he was a “work in progress”.
Rishi himself has come under fire in recent weeks following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as his wife, Akshata Murty owns shares in an Indian firm, Infosys, founded by her dad, worth over £400 million, operating from Russia.
He said: “I think it’s totally fine for people to take shots at me, it’s fair game. I’m the one sitting here and that’s what I signed up for.
“It’s very upsetting and, I think, wrong for people to try and come at my wife, and you know, beyond that actually, with regard to my father-in-law, for whom I have nothing but enormous pride and admiration for everything that he’s achieved.
“And no amount of attempted smearing is going to make me change that because he’s wonderful and has achieved a huge amount.”
Despite there being sanctions on Russia at the minute, Infosys is an Indian owned business so is not subjected to the current UK sanctions as Delhi are still trading with Moscow.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
