Jim Carrey Slams “Spineless” Hollywood Over Their Standing Ovation For Will Smith Post-Slap: “I Was Sickened”

Sunday’s Oscar ceremony controversy has undoubtedly led to many comedians feeling defensive and a little on-edge. Following the infamous slap — Will Smith reacting to Chris Rock’s insensitive joke concerning his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, hitting the comedian in the face and causing utter chaos at the ceremony and culturally online — everyone is feeling the need to weigh in. Actor Jim Carrey, while promoting “Sonic The Hedgehog 2,” offered his own opinion on the slap during a chat with CBS (via HuffPost) and took the attendees’ standing ovation for Smith’s Best Actor win as a sign that something is clearly wrong with Hollywood, calling the institution “spineless.”

“I was sickened by the standing ovation. 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,” the actor told Gayle King on Monday.

READ MORE: Will Smith Formally Apologizes While Academy Announces Formal Review

Carrey also agreed with some critics that Smith “should’ve been” escorted out after the altercation instead of just being left alone to wait around until his category came up.

The Canadian actor is in a unique position to comment on the event. As a former stand-up comedian, Carrey moved into mostly acting in feature films. He defended Rock, attributing the comedian’s silence as him not wanting to “cause a hassle,” after King pointed out that Rock didn’t get the police involved.

“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 going to be ubiquitous,” Carrey said. “That insult is going to last a very long time. If you want to yell from the audience and show disapproval or say something on Twitter [that’s fine]. But you do not have the right to walk up on stage and smack somebody in the face because they said words.”

Truthfully, it’s all more complicated than that. We haven’t actually heard directly from Rock on how he’s feeling, so folks making up their minds on the veteran comedian’s state of mind (especially white folks) might want to sit this one out until he does. However, you’ll likely see more comedians standing up for Rock and calling out the Academy for not protecting a guest presenter from a fellow celebrity. Though, to be fair, a comedienne like Tiffany Haddish has already spoken out in favor of Will Smith, saying the actor sticking up for his wife was a “beautiful” thing.