The Red Table Host, Jada Pinkett Smith, took to Instagram her thoughts which is a first after her husband Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars 2022 for a joke, he made on her. The post read, “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it,” captioned with a heart and folded hands emoji. There was no mention of the slap or any injustice or apology, in regards to Will Smith’s actions or Chris Rock’s joke.
See Jada Pinkett’s Instagram post here:
View this post on Instagram
Jada’s shorn head was caused by alopecia, a hair loss disease from which she has suffered for years. After a long-standing battle, she now wears her baldness as the armor of a survivor as fans gathered up for love and support in this situation.
The Oscar feud took place when Chris Rock went on stage to present the award for best documentary and took his sweet time on stage for some unscripted jokes.
One ‘G.I. Jane’ joke targeting Jada got her husband, the King Richard actor, Will Smith to go up on stage and slap him in front of the crowd. Even when Chris tries to play the slap off by laughing and saying “Will Smith just beat the s*** out of me,” Will Smith yells from his seat “Keep my wife’s name out of your f*****g mouth.”
Will Smith just punched Chris Rock and told him "keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth" pic.twitter.com/1f1ytdbMRv
— CJ Fogler (@cjzer0) March 28, 2022
Minutes after the scene, Will Smith was crowned his first-ever Academy Award for King Richard, in which he delivered a tearful, heartfelt speech with an apology to the Academy and his fellow nominees, but not the comedian Chris.
He did mention, “Love will make you do crazy things.” Which many are interpreting as a slap. He later attended the Academy afterparty with his family and casually danced and posed for selfies.
After the event, Will Smith wrote an apology on his Instagram, this time mentioning explicitly the comedian Chris Rock. He wrote, “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong,” He further wrote “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.”
See Will Smith’s apology:
View this post on Instagram
This apology came after the Academy formally condemned the King Richard actor’s behavior on stage. The statement from the Academy said, “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.”
Will Smith did mention his apology to the Academy in his speech and hoped that he “would be invited back next year.” But for now, the Academy is working up any disciplinary action against the actor, which has yet to be decided. As confirmed by the Los Angeles Police Department, Chris Rock didn’t even file a police report.
The Disciplinary action that the Academy can take, according to the bylaws can be either suspension or expulsion from membership. It has happened in the past with Harvey Weinstein in 2017 amid allegations of sexual harassment and rape. Also, Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski in 2018 on grounds of sexual assault.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation called the incident “unacceptable” but also said they “will not comment on any pending member disciplinary process.” They shared on Monday that, “Violence or physical abuse in the workplace is never appropriate and the union condemns any such conduct, the incident involving Will Smith and Chris Rock at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable.”
There were serious discussions about removing Will Smith from the future of film, according to industry officials. But the action couldn’t take place that quickly since Will Smith had won “Best Actor” just minutes after the incident. Even after the win, the stakeholders had a difference of opinion on how to proceed.
During the commercial break, Denzel Washington spoke to Will Smith and said “At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.” After that, Will Smith was crowned his first-ever Academy Award.
Even King Richard, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, condemned Will Smith’s behavior at the Oscars. His son, Richard Williams quoted his father to NBC News, “We don’t know all the details of what happened, but we don’t condone anyone hitting anyone else unless it’s in self-defense.”
After the Oscars, came the afterparty which the King Richard star and his family enjoyed as they posed for selfies, danced, and celebrated his victory. While the whole world is shocked by the event, one footage showed Will Smith at the Vanity Fair having a great time.
@tobybarlett tweeted:
While the internet is having an apoplectic fit over the normalization of violence Will Smith displayed to millions tonight, he’s over at the Vanity Fair after-party having a fantastic time. pic.twitter.com/RcojM7ekls
— Toby Bartlett (@tobybartlett) March 28, 2022
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Chris Mack
