It was the slap seen round the world, and the reaction was swift to the Will Smith-Chris Rock incident at Sunday night’s Oscars telecast.
Smith — moments before winning best actor honors for his portrayal of tennis dad Richard Williams in “King Richard” — marched on stage and slapped Rock after the comic made a joke about the appearance of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
“Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya,” Rock joked.
Smith shouted at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your f- - -ing mouth,” and the crowd hushed as it became clear this was no act.
On Monday afternoon the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced it “condemned” Smith’s actions and had opened a formal review of the incident.
Pinkett Smith revealed in 2018 that she suffers from alopecia, a serious ailment that can cause severe hair loss and bald spots.
During his acceptance speech for his best actor Oscar win, with tears rolling down his face, Smith spoke of similarities between himself and his film character, both “fierce defenders” of family, as he attempted to address the confrontation over Rock’s comment.
“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world,” Smith said. “I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family for entrusting me with your story. That’s what I want to do. I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love and care and concern.”
“I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. ...Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things.”
Celebrities took to social media Sunday and Monday to voice their reaction to the incident. A few tried to make light of it. Many reacted with shock and anger. Others came to the defense of Smith.
Nicki Minaj put herself in Pinkett Smith’s shoes. “Imagine what it must feel like to be losing your hair to the point where you have to shave it bald. You think that’s easy to deal with for anyone? You don’t think she’s cried about that many times?” she wrote on Twitter.
Many in the auditorium came to console Smith, including Daniel Kaluuya, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. In the hours later the hashtag #ProtectBlackWomen trended.
Here’s a look at some of what stars had to say about the altercation.
Contributing: Associated Press
Just saw the Will Smith slap. Anyone have a late night show I can borrow just for tomorrow?
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) March 28, 2022
Wtaf????? That wasn’t scripted????? 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 28, 2022
Will Smith owes Chris Rock a huge apology. There is no excuse for what he did. He’s lucky Chris is not filing assault charges. The excuses he made tonight were bullshit.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) March 28, 2022
Violence isn’t ok. Assault is never the answer. Also? This is the 2nd time that Chris has made fun of Jada on the #Oscars stage, & tonight he went after her alopecia. Punching down at someone’s auto-immune disease is wrong. Doing so on purpose is cruel. They both need a breather.
— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) March 28, 2022
You just got to witness in real time what happens in a man’s soul when he looks over to the woman he loves & sees her holding back tears from a “little joke” at her expense. This is what any & every real man feels in that instant. while y’all seeing the joke he’s seeing her pain
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) March 28, 2022
Imagine what it must feel like to be losing your hair to the point where you have to shave it bald. You think that’s easy to deal with for anyone? You don’t think she’s cried about that many times? 2022 y’all gon have to see these men about those jokes you made about their wives.
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) March 28, 2022
We should never get to a place where we sit and watch a movie star hit someone on global television then, moments later, get a standing ovation while talking about love. #WillSmith #Oscars
— Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) March 28, 2022
Stand-up comics are very adept at handling hecklers.
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) March 28, 2022
Violent physical assault... not so much.#UgliestOscarMoment_Ever pic.twitter.com/enUimEoLV6
I know we’re all still processing, but the way casual violence was normalized tonight by a collective national audience will have consequences that we can’t even fathom in the moment. #Oscars2022
— Janai Nelson (@JNelsonLDF) March 28, 2022
This was loud!!! Like that slap on that other channel 👀 https://t.co/y7dudEWsAQ
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) March 28, 2022
Let me tell you something, it’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a Comedian.
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) March 28, 2022
Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.
B!tch don’t you ever play with me. LOL • https://t.co/jnbpt4Vpb3 pic.twitter.com/Klb3GEIL3d
— 50cent (@50cent) March 28, 2022
What a thing to wake up to. Only the fifth black man in nearly 100 years to win an Oscar for male lead, and the first in 16 years, resorts to violence instead of utilising the power of words to slay Chris Rock. Then he claims God and Love made him do it. https://t.co/yz218cZOIu
— Bernardine Evaristo (@BernardineEvari) March 28, 2022
