Most Americans back Chris Rock over Will Smith, Twitter data shows
LOS ANGELES - Most Americans are backing Chris Rock after the comedian was slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars, but several states in the middle of the U.S. are in Smith's camp.
A map released this week by sports gambling company BetOnline.ag shows 41 states support Rock after the onstage smackdown, while 9 states are rallying behind Smith.
The results were based on geotagged Twitter data, including more than 200,000 tweets that included hashtags #TeamChris or #TeamWill among others.
Maine rallied the most around Rock, with 98.2% of tweets tallied from the state applauding him.
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Pro-Smith states were Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and New Hampshire.
Of the states tweeting support for Smith, Mississippi was the place with the highest percentage of his defenders at 75.4%.
Smith’s slap seen ’round the world at the Oscars was clearly a crime, legal experts say, but the chances of prosecution are slim and even if convicted he’d likely face little more than a slap of his own — on the wrist.
Smith left millions of witnesses stunned Sunday when he marched onto the stage of the Dolby Theatre and smacked Chris Rock in the face after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who was sitting with the actor in the front row.
The Los Angeles Police Department has said it was aware of the incident but was not investigating because Rock declined to file a police report.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences condemned Smith striking Rock, who had made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and said it would launch an inquiry.
Later in the day, Smith gave a stronger apology than he did in his best actor acceptance speech, which notably hadn’t included an apology to Rock.
Pinkett Smith responded Tuesday with a graphic on Instagram that read: "This is a season of healing and I’m here for it." She offered no further comment.
Even Smith's mom has spoken about the incident since it unfolded, saying in part "That's the first time I've ever seen him go off."
The Academy is set to discuss Smith's fate during an emergency meeting Wednesday.
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