If you’re an early bird, you probably skipped watching the Oscars last night, went online to see a recap of those awarded, and were stunned to see the news that Will Smith slapped Chris Rock across the face. To explain, comedian Chris Rock took the stage last night at the Oscars, where he made a less than tasteful joke to Jada Smith, and referred to her as “G.I. Jane 2.” This came as a reference to the film G.I. Jane, where Demi Moore plays a bald soldier. Although Smith laughed at first, his wife Jada, rolled her eyes. Soon after, Smith walked onto the Oscars stage and slapped Rock across the face, shocking those in the audience but also many at home. You can see the uncensored version of the slap below, but in case you do not want to hear inappropriate language or see the slap in its entirety, you might want to skip this one.
BREAKING: Will Smith’s punch to Chris Rock was not censored on certain TV networks across the globe. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/1ur6Af5ORA
— What's Trending (@WhatsTrending) March 28, 2022
A Long Time Coming?
As the news came out online, some were pointing out that this might have been a long time coming. In 2016, both Jada and Will Smith were the butts of Rock’s jokes at the Oscars as well. The two boycotted the Oscars due to a lack of diversity among the nominees. Rock joked that “‘Jada went mad. Will went mad. Everyone went mad…Jada said she was not coming. I was like, ‘Isn’t she on a TV show?’ Jada’s gonna boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.'” Although both did not seem to be offended, many wondered if the slap was a boiling point moment, and was not just over the Gi Jane comment. In addition, Jada has been open about her diagnosis of Alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair to fall out. Like many who suffer from the disorder, she decided to shave her head instead of having to constantly watch it fall out.
Let’s not forget Chris Rock’s opening monologue from the 2016 Oscars where he shades Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/DkUPHXVDyE
— Chris Witherspoon (@WitherspoonC) March 28, 2022
With these two pieces of information together, some viewers felt that it made sense that Smith would have lashed out, especially as he instructed Rock to “keep his wife’s name” out of his mouth. Many thought that this was a relation to the jabs Rock had made previously at the 2016 Oscars. And although Smith later apologized to the Academy after winning his first Oscar, many on Twitter were divided on the situation and if Smith should have been allowed to continue on as usual.
Hollywood Divided
On Twitter, there seemed to be a lot of discourse surrounding not only the slap itself and why it occurred, but many also discussed what happened afterward. Comedian Kathy Griffin tweeted that “t’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a Comedian. Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.” In fact, after Smith slapped Rock, he responded by saying “it was a G.I. Jane joke,” pointing to the fact that comedians often make jokes that some believe are way worse than Rock’s jab. Some felt very strongly about the encounter, including Judd Apatow, a comedian, who wrote in a now-deleted Tweet that Smith “could have killed him. That’s pure out-of-control rage.”
According to Judd Apatow, Will Smith has so much raw power that he could have easily slain Chris Rock with a single slap to the face pic.twitter.com/e7Tl7YynGI
— Colin (@IntroSpecktive) March 28, 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
Not everyone, however, was upset with Smith, with some defending him. Comedian Tiffany Haddish said that “‘For me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives.'” At the end of the day, it comes down to personal opinion. Some might have found the situation completely inappropriate, while others did not see it as a big deal, but rather as a moment that might have gotten a bit out of control.
