Actor Will Smith was arrested this morning for assault and battery. Witnesses say they saw Smith being forcibly escorted into a cop car at approximately 8:00 AM. He did not put up a fight.

At the 94th Academy Awards ceremony that took place Sunday March 27, the actor went onstage and smacked comedian Chris Rock in the face, then returned to his seat and let out a stream of expletives directed at Rock. The latter had made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, by which Smith became reasonably offended. Smith went on to win the Oscar for best actor. The father of three defended his actions towards Rock by drawing parallels between himself and the character he portrayed in King Richard – the film for which he won the award – a man of family values.

According to the police report filed, Rock claimed that Smith had acted in a threatening manner, which caused him to fear for his life. Apparently the two have had quite a complicated history, meaning this isn’t their first squabble. Rock has made several less-than-friendly comments towards Smith and Pinkett-Smith both in person and indirectly through interviews and social media posts.

 

Updated 11:40 PM ET, Thu March 31, 2022