Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars following he made a joke regarding Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett.
Noting that she is now shaved, Rock said, “Jada, I’m looking forward to GI Jane 2!”
Smith climbed onto the stage and appeared to slap Rock, before returning to his seat, yelling for the comedian not to say his wife’s name. Smith used an expletive in his yell.
Smith later apologized in tears during a speech on the occasion of winning the award for best actor. This is the first time that Smith won an Academy Award during his career, for his role as the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams in the movie “King Richard”.
Accepting the award, he said, “I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees.”
He added, “Art imitates life. I look like a mad father, as they say regarding Richard Williams. But love makes you do crazy things.”
Jada Pinkett Smith previously spoke regarding her suffering from alopecia areata (hair loss).
Immediately following the accident, Rock appeared shocked, telling the audience: “This is the greatest night in television history.”
Then he handed out the award for Best Documentary, which is why he got on the stage in the first place.
His joke refers to the 1997 movie “GI Jane,” in which actress Demi Moore starred with a shaven head.
There was a shock among journalists, backstage at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, at what Smith had done with Rock.
Journalists would participate in the traditional press conference, where winners would come to answer questions following giving award-winning speeches.
But attention suddenly turned to the screens and to what was going on at the party. It was clear that something serious had begun.
At first, it seemed like a joke or a pre-arranged order. Smith even seemed to laugh at first, following Rock joked regarding his wife, pointing out that she looked like GI Jane.
She looked seriously annoyed. Up until this point, the assumption remained that this was a pre-made plot.
Suspicion began to creep in when Smith rose from his seat and hit Rock on stage.
The two are veterans of film and television, and know how to perform a deceptive theatrical slap. But everyone started thinking it wasn’t really a hoax.
With Smith sitting in his seat and shouting, it was clear that it wasn’t a spectacle.
Television viewers did not hear any bad words. ABC has cut live broadcasts to avoid offending viewers at home.
During the incident, silence fell over the winners’ room. The academy staff seemed shocked, as were the journalists.
Meanwhile, Rock looked trembling. But following realizing that he had made Oscar history, he commented on the situation, saying, “That was the greatest night in TV history.”
Like previous parties that have been known due to certain situations, this one will forever be known as the one that saw Smith smack Rock.
Jada Pinkett Smith first spoke regarding her struggle with hair loss on an episode of her Facebook chat show in 2018.
“I have problems with hair loss,” she said. “It was terrifying when it first started.”
She recounted how she suspected she was suffering from alopecia areata when some of her hair fell out one day while showering. She also recounted that she was in a state of panic, and decided to cut her hair.
And this isn’t the first time Rock has joked regarding Jada Pinkett at the Academy Awards. He hosted a party in 2016, when Jada Pinkett was among the stars who boycotted the event due to the lack of racial diversity among the candidates.
That year, Rock said, “Jada Pinkett Smith’s boycott of the Academy Awards is like me boycotting Rihanna’s pants – I didn’t get an invite!”
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