Chris Rock
After a long silence, he comments again on the Smith slap
© Picturelux / imago images
After Chris Rock received a slap in the face from Will Smith on March 27, 2022 during the 94th Academy Awards, the comedian initially kept a low profile. In a stand-up performance, however, Rock now jokes about the scandal.
It was the biggest Oscar scandal of all time: During his moderation, Chris Rock, 57, made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s, 50, shaved hair. Because the actress suffers from a chronic hair loss condition called alopecia, neither she nor her husband Will Smith, 53, felt like laughing. But what happened then caused bewilderment: Will Smith stormed onto the stage and gave the comedian a resounding slap in the face. This scandal dominated the headlines for months. Jada spoke out, Will apologized – only Chris Rock didn’t really want to address the issue. Until now!
Chris Rock makes it clear: ‘I’m not a victim’
It wasn’t until May, two months after the Oscars, that the comedian first referred to the incident. “I’m still processing what happened,” he said at one of his shows in Boston. However, it was not the right setting to talk about what happened. Chris Rock seems to have found it now: on Saturday, July 23, 2022, he performed at Madison Square Garden in New York, as “ET Online” reports – and tied the slap thematically into his stand-up program.
Chris Rock and Will Smith
© Chris Pizzello / Picture Alliance
“Yeah, it hurt, dammit. But I shook it off and went to work the next day,” he said. “Anyone who says ‘words hurt’ has never been hit in the face,” he joked. The following day, at a performance in New Jersey, he again took the stand and assured that he was fine. He even took aim at what he said was an overly sensitive public reaction. “I’m not a victim,” Rock clarified. “I’m not going to the hospital because I cut myself on paper.”
Will Smith got banned from Oscars
A day after the Oscars, Will Smith shared a statement via Instagram apologizing for his behavior. “Violence in all its forms is poisonous and destructive,” he wrote. The actor reacted “emotionally”, but it was “unacceptable and inexcusable”. “I want to apologize to you publicly, Chris,” it finally said.
Shortly thereafter, the “King Richard” actor announced that he was leaving the Academy, meaning he can no longer vote for the Oscars. A few days later, the Academy announced that Smith would be banned from all Academy events for the next ten years.
Sources used: etonline.com, instagram.com