Jim Carrey says he was "sickened" to see Will Smith receive a standing ovation following his slap on Chris Rock at this year's Oscars.
Gayle King asked Carrey about Rock's decision not to file a police report in connection with the incident, a topic that has dominated pop culture discussions this week.
“I was sickened,” Carrey said. “I was sickened by the standing ovation. I felt like Hollywood is just spineless, en masse. It really felt like, ‘Oh, this is a really clear indication that we’re not the cool club anymore.’”
Carrey said if he had been involved in the same situation, he would have taken legal action against Smith immediately.
“[Rock] doesn’t want the hassle,” he 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 gonna be ubiquitous. You know, that insult is gonna last a very long time.”
Carrey went on to argue that no one has “the right to walk up on stage and smack somebody in the face because they said words,” arguing that—in this case—the situation didn’t mark an escalation but instead “came out of nowhere” because of Smith.
“It didn’t escalate, it came out of nowhere,” the actor said. “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.”
See more from Carrey, who further criticized the incident as a “selfish moment,” below. The reason for the interview with Carrey was to promote the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog sequel, so the topic of the incident was discussed as part of a larger discussion that had been booked weeks in advance.
In a statement posted to Instagram on Monday, Smith apologized to Rock for having "reacted emotionally" to a joke about Jada. Smith won the Best Actor award on Sunday for his portrayal of Richard Williams in King Richard.