Chris Rock Declines to File Assault Charges or a Police Report After Will Smith Slapped Him on TV!

On what should have been the greatest night of Will Smith's career, he seems to have done what some are calling irreparable damage.

Last night, during the 94th Oscars, comedian Chris Rock was preparing to introduce the nominees for the Best Documentary Film and he told a few jokes about other actors and actresses in attendance. He told a joke about Denzel Washington and his film "Tragedy of MackBeth". He told another about married couple Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem both being nominated and Bardem praying for Will Smith to win so Bardem didn't win instead of his wife. Rock then turned his attention to Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith. That's when this happened.

Let's admit it, we were all Lupita N'yong'o the moment Will Smith cursed at Chris Rock. I was in the press room and thought that it was a staged event until the profanity started flying. That's when the room went still and we all knew, something horrible had just happened.

We're not placing blame on either man but, we are saying that there is a time and place for things and this definitely wasn't the time or the place.

After the slap seen around the world, Rock went on to present his award and left the stage. It seems that the Los Angeles Police Department attempted to get involved but, Rock declined. In a statement released by the LAPD they said "LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”

According to Variety, in between the slap and his best actor win, Smith met with Denzel Washington. The “Glory” and “Training Day” Oscar winner offered Smith the following advice: “At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.”

Pinkett-Smith announced last year she shaved her head after struggling with alopecia. After Rock made his “G.I. Jane” joke, Jada was seen not laughing and rolling her eyes. The actor wrote on Instagram last year, “Now at this point, I can only laugh… y’all know I’ve been struggling with alopecia…Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!”

Smith went on to win Best Actor for his film "King Richard" about the life of Venus and Serena Williams' famous father/coach Richard Williams. He apologized to everyone but Rock.

Do you think this has harmed Smith's career? Why or why not? Let's chat about this in the comments below.