Less than 48 hours after Will Smith smacked Chris Rock at Sunday’s Oscars, a Virginia lawyer referenced the slap heard around the world while defending his client in court on Tuesday.
As reported by the Roanoke Times, attorney Dirk Padgett brought up the infamous slap while speaking to jurors during closing arguments in the murder case of 25-year-old William Reno Ray. The man was accused of murder for the March 2020 killings of his fiancée’s mother, April Barnicoat, 42, and the mother’s boyfriend, Eric Surface, 44. Padgett argued that his client “snapped” just like Smith did when he slapped Rock during the Academy Awards.
“Things you wouldn’t ordinarily do you do — like Will Smith,” Padgett said. “I bet he wishes he could take it back. But he can’t. You can’t unbreak a stick.”
The jurors weren’t convinced, and on Tuesday convicted Ray of two counts of first-degree murder. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 19.
On Monday, nearly 24 hours after the viral moment, Will Smith took to Instagram to issue a public apology to Rock.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris,” Smith wrote. “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.”
Smith added that he reacted “emotionally” after hearing the joke, before apologizing to the Academy.
“I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world,” the King Richard star continued. “I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.”
Smith added, “I am a work in progress.”
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