Jim Carrey ‘sickened’ by standing ovation for Will Smith at Oscars

Jim Carrey has blasted Will Smith over his “selfish” Oscars slap, telling a US TV host that the reaction to it by other guests was “spineless”.

Jim Carrey has slammed Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards — and has hit out at the “spineless” audience of A-listers who subsequently gave the actor a standing ovation.

“I was sickened. I was sickened by the standing ovation,” Carrey told US host Gayle King in a CBS Mornings interview that aired today, reports the New York Post.

Smith scooped the Best Actor Oscar for his role in King Richard just minutes after assaulting Rock, with the crowd getting out of their seats to cheer for the star.

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Jim Carrey: “Hollywood is just spineless en masse.”

“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, 60, told King of the audience’s warm reception for Smith.

The Dumb and Dumber star then said Smith should have been arrested and sued over the act.

“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 claimed.

“That insult is gonna last a very long time,” he continued. “If you want to yell from the audience and show disapproval or say something on Twitter [that’s OK, but] you do not have the right to walk up onstage and smack somebody in the face ‘cuz they said words.”

Smith received two standing ovations as he accepted the Best Actor award, post-slap. Picture: Robyn Beck/AFP

King then suggested that the incident “escalated,” prompting Carrey to respond: “It didn’t escalate, it came out of nowhere because Will has something going on inside him that’s frustrated.”

Carrey and Smith have met on multiple occasions, with Carrey claiming he wishes no ill will toward the newly minted Oscar winner.

“I wish him the best, I really do … He’s done great things. But that was not a good moment. It cast a pall over everybody’s shining moment,” the Liar Liar star declared. “It was such a selfish moment that cast a pall over the whole thing.”

Carrey said he was “sickened” by the audience’s response. Picture: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

The infamous moment. Picture: Robyn Beck/AFP

At this year’s Oscars, Smith stormed onto the stage and struck Rock across the face after the funnyman made an off-colour joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Rock compared Pinkett Smith — who suffers from alopecia and shaved her head last year — to Demi Moore’s baldheaded character G.I. Jane, prompting the slap from Smith.

“Keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth!” Smith then shouted — twice — after returning to his seat.

A visibly stunned Rock continued on with his set before leaving the stage. Just minutes later, Smith scooped the Best Actor Oscar for his role in King Richard.

Smith apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees during his acceptance speech. At the time, he notably left out Rock’s name, but he has since issued a formal apology.

Meanwhile, the Academy said it is investigating the incident in a “formal review” that will “explore further action and consequences.”

Meanwhile, Jada has now finally responded with a cryptic post on Instagram that reads: “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it”.

It made no mention of the violent incident, the Oscars, her husband or Rock.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.