Comedian Jeff Ross has said Chris Rock’s restraint after the Will Smith incident at the 2022 Oscars was a “class act”.
Rock was presenting the award for Best Documentary at the ceremony on Sunday (27 March) when he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s appearance.
“Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see you,” he quipped in an apparent reference to the actor’s shaved head.
Smith then walked onstage and struck the comedian and screamed, “Keep my wife’s name out your f****** mouth”.
Soon after the shocking events unfolded, Ross posted a lengthy message on social media in Rock’s support.
“I worship Chris Rock,” he wrote. “I cried when I saw Smith attack him because I was watching my idol live out a comedian’s worst nightmare on live television.”
“Rock should get a Nobel peace prize for keeping his hands down and not escalating the situation. Class act,” he added.
Ross added that if Pinkett Smith “wasn’t feeling the joke” then Smith should’ve “put his arm around her and let Rock finish”.
The American stand-up comedian then went on to reveal that he too has alopecia.
“It sucks,” he said. “But when people make jokes I laugh because that’s life.”
On Monday (28 March), Smith issued an official apology to Rock.
“I was out of line and I was wrong,” read the statement, addressed specifically to Rock, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and others.
The King Richard star said he knew jokes were part of his life as a public figure and that “violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive”.
“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 emotionally. I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong,” the statement read. “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.”
Find the full list of 2022 Oscar winners here. See the latest updates and reactions from the dramatic ceremony here, and read about the biggest talking points here.
