Jim Carrey blasts ‘spineless’ Oscars audience for Will Smith standing ovation

Everyone has a take on Will Smith hitting Chris Rock at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony, and Jim Carrey is not holding back in voicing his. The King Richard star shocked the world when he slapped Rock on stage after the comedian made a joke at the expense of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, causing much discussion about which of the two parties was in the wrong, or if both were at fault. Carrey, though, is definitely on Team Rock, and has condemned those who supported Smith on the night.

While speaking on CBS’ This Morning, Carrey stated that he was “sickened by the standing ovation,” referring to the unanimous applause that met Smith’s Best Actor win later on in the evening. He continued: “Hollywood is just spineless en masse and it really felt like this is a really clear indication that we aren’t the cool club anymore.” Carrey also voiced his opinion that Smith should have been arrested for the altercation.

You can catch Carrey’s full comments here:

When presenter Gayle King reminded Carrey that Rock had elected not to press charges against Smith, the Liar Liar star suggested Rock “didn’t want the hassle.” Carrey then went on to stress that he would act very differently if he was in Rock’s position, and decreed that the evidence of Smith’s actions is going to last forever.

“I’d have announced this morning that I was suing Will for 200 million dollars because that video is going to be there forever, it’s going to be ubiquitous,” Carrey contined. “That insult is gonna last a very long time. If you want to yell from the audience and show disapproval or say something on Twitter, you do not have the right to walk up on stage and smack somebody in the face ‘cuz they said words.”

King offered that things had “escalated” between the two men, but Carrey disagreed. “It didn’t escalate,” he said, interrupting the host. “It came out of nowhere because Will has something going on inside him that’s frustrated.” Carrey concluded by denouncing Smith’s outburst as “cast[ing] a pall” over the hard work of the King Richard cast and crew and the whole Oscars ceremony in general.

“I wish him the best, I really do,” he finished. “I don’t have anything against Will Smith. He’s done great things. But that was not a good moment. It cast a pall over everybody’s shining moment. A lot of people worked really hard to get to that place. And to have their moment in the sun, to get their award for the really hard work they did, it is no mean feat to go through all the stuff you have to go through when you are nominated for an Oscar. It’s a gauntlet of devotion you have to do. It was such a selfish moment that cast a pall over the whole thing.”

Jim Carrey is not alone in siding with Chris Rock. In particular, many comedians — including Kathy Griffin — have unsurprisingly criticized Smith for crossing a line and responding to a joke with violence. Maybe most damning of all, the real-life Richard Williams has condemned the man who portrayed him on film’s behavior. Smith, for his part, has since apologized for the incident.