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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Judi James & Vicki Newman

What Jada Pinkett Smith was really thinking as Chris Rock dropped GI Jane joke at Oscars

Will Smith furiously stormed the stage and slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars after he made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Jada's face dropped and she looked visibly upset after the comedian compared her to GI Jane - a role Demi Moore famously shaved her head for.

Jada suffers from alopecia, so it's no wonder she didn't care for the bald joke.

But what was she really thinking after being made the butt of the joke and seeing her husband's reaction?

Here, body language expert and author Judi James tells the Mirror what she thinks was going through Jada's mind...

There is a very interesting body language moment between Jada and Will just before we saw Will stride up on stage and land that very shocking blow on Chris Rock.

Like all comics, Chris is probably very experienced at reading the mood of his audience and knowing if and when he has gone too far.

Sitting right at the front of the audience in their own high-status banquette seat, looking for all the world like the Hollywood power couple they are, Will and Jada had been politely rolling with the punches for much of the evening, although it was noticeable that Will’s signature good-humoured smile had become rather forced-looking after some other prods from the hosts and Jada had already brought out a finger point of disapproval when one of the female hosts had asked Will to join her backstage for a private Covid test because ‘it looks like Jada approves, so get up here’.

Jada’s head shake and pointed finger of warning suggested she was less able to dissolve into bouts of open-mouthed laughter like her husband and it was this contrasting form of response from the couple that really opened up when Chris Rock made his comment about GI Jane.

Will’s performed laughter all evening had been of the open mouthed variety, often with some slow, ‘seal’ clapping that suggested good humour. He laughed again at Chris’s joke but his response was more subdued.

The moment Will slapped Chris (Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock)

Jada’s entire expression changed as she seemed to be processing the meaning of the ‘gag’ though. Her spine stiffened and her hands clasped on her lap. Her facial expression appeared to freeze as she rolled her eyes to suggest that was enough, looking over at Chris with a glance of total disapproval.

Chris might have read this mood faster than Will. Being caught laughing politely at a comment about your wife, who is clearly upset or angry must have created a difficult moment that the cameras missed as the next thing we saw of Will was him striding up on stage to hit Chris.

Will’s Oscar win saw him speaking in tears from the stage while making constant references to how much he protects people. He seemed to have a long list of actors and family members that he protects and the speech sounded a mixture of apology and defiance.

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