Will Smith: Alec Baldwin compares Oscars to ‘Jerry Springer Show’ over Chris Rock slap

‘I love you, Chris Rock,’ actor said of Oscar night controversy

Alec Baldwin has compared the Academy Awards to The Jerry Springer Show after Will Smith hit Chris Rock during the live ceremony on Sunday (27 March).

The actor came out in support of Rock on Twitter and Instagram on Monday (28 March).

“I’m not reading much about how, or even if, the producers attended to Chris. But I love you, Chris Rock,” Baldwin, 63 wrote.

During the Oscars live telecast, Smith yelled at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth” after striking the comedian onstage, in what is being described by some as the most shocking incident in the award show’s 94-year history.

Rock was presenting the award for Best Documentary at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, when he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s appearance.

“Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see you,” he quipped in a reference to the actor’s shaved head.

Pinkett Smith – who announced last year that she shaved her head after struggling with alopecia – could be seen in the audience with her husband and rolling her eyes at the joke.

After Rock’s comment, Smith stood up and proceeded to walk onto the stage, before hitting Rock and swearing at him.

In his first comments about the Oscars slap, Baldwin also wrote: “I’m sorry the Oscars turned into The Jerry Springer Show,” comparing the Academy Awards to the Nineties tabloid talk show hosted by British-American television personality Springer.

Since Sunday night, Smith has issued a public apology to Rock and the Academy over his actions, saying: “I was out of line. I was wrong.”

However, the Academy has launched a “formal review” of the matter, adding that it “does not condone violence of any form”.

For more updates, follow our live blog here.