Chris Rock Declines to Press Charges Against Will Smith
Chris Rock has opted not to pursue charges against Will Smith after Smith assaulted him on the Oscar stage Sunday night, ABC 7 Los Angeles reports. The King Richard actor approached Rock, who was hosting the ceremony, after he made a G.I. Jane joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith, who suffers from alopecia. Without Rock's consent, the LAPD will not pursue the incident any further.
"LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program," the LAPD told CNN in a statement. "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."
Lisa Leslie Says WNBA Was Instructed Not to Make a 'Big Fuss' Over Brittney Griner's Detainment
During an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast, WNBA Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie alleged that the WNBA players and other members of the organization were instructed not to "make a big fuss" over Brittney Griner's detainment in Russia. "What we were told, and again this is all sort of passed along through hearsay, but what we were told was to not make a big fuss about it so that they could not use her as a pawn, so to speak, in this situation in the war," Leslie said. "So, to make it like it's not that important or don't make it where we're like, 'Free Brittney' and we start this campaign, and then it becomes something that they can use."
Leslie also questioned whether silence is the right approach. “Do we know if that’s the right thing to do or not?” she asked. “It’s heartbreaking for all of us. That’s the feeling of it. You want to do more, and think, should we all use our social media platform and get behind it or not? Nobody really [knows]. This is the first time we’re in this situation, and we don’t know what to do."
Moderna Seeks Vaccination Authorization for Kids Under 6
Children under six years of age may be one step closer to receiving protection against the COVID-19 virus. According to NPR, Moderna is poised to request authorization for vaccine use from the Food and Drug Administration in children younger than 6 in the coming weeks. "Given the need for a vaccine against COVID-19 in infants and young children, we are working with the U.S. FDA and regulators globally to submit these data as soon as possible," explained Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel in a statement.
