Academy Awards React After Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock

Most people have heard about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards Oscar show on March 27, 2022. The incident occurred after Rock made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

As he was presenting the award for best documentary, Rock said “Jada I love you, ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.” Then “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star promptly walked on stage and open hand slapped the comedian across the face. After he strutted back to his seat next to his wife.

Smith then hollered from his chair at Rock “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!” The comedian stated it was “just a GI Jane joke.” to which the actor louder reiterated his previous statement.

Later on, Smith stepped back on stage only this time to accept his Oscar award for his role in the movie “King Richard.” While on stage he tearfully apologized to the audience and the Academy for his behavior. Then stated, “Love makes you do crazy things.”

Immediately after the altercation between Smith and Rock, the incident flooded social media. Some people backed the singer/actor, others condoned his behavior.

On March 28, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Science announced they did not condone violence and were looking into the incident.

The academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law.

One social media user named Raven tweeted, “They can review it all they want. Fact of the matter is that Chris Rock deliberately mocked her, knowing about her illness and got smacked for it. I don’t blame Will one bit.” Kim Mattingly posted, “They need to rescind his Oscar!”

Rock has stated that he does not want to press charges, according to the Los Angeles police department.

Recently, Smith posted on Instagram:

Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable, Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.

The medical condition Smith’s wife sufferers from is called alopecia. This is an autoimmune disorder that causes a person’s hair to come out. Often times this happens in clumps the size and shape of a quarter.

This condition affects each individual differently. Some people only lose a few spots while others lose a lot. Some suffers will have their hair grow back just for it to fall back out later. Others are lucky to have their hair grow back permanently.

Smith’s violent action could result in him having a “suspension of membership or expulsion from membership,” according to the Academy Awards’ bylaws.

Written by Sheena Robertson

Sources:

The New York Times: Academy Condemns Will Smith for Slap at Oscars and Opens Inquiry; by Nicole Sperling, Matt Stevens, and Julia Jacobs
CNN: Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. Now what? By Lisa Respers France
WebMD: Alopecia Areata; Medically Reviewed by Hansa D. Bhargava, MD

Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of David Shankbone’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License