Jada Pinkett Smith and her daughter, Willow, have broken their silence about Will Smith’s action during the Oscars 2022 award ceremony. Will Smith walked up the stage and slapped the host of the show, Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife’s bald head.
During the event, Rock made a ‘GI Jane’ joke which irked the actor and his wife and it prompted Will Smith to walk on stage and dished the comedian a slap.
The joke apparently did not sit well with the Smiths as Jada Pinkett, had since 2018 announced to the world that she suffers from Alopecia areata, a condition that causes a sudden hair loss that starts with one or more circular bald patches that may overlap.
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Alopecia areata occurs when the immune system attacks hair follicles and may be brought on by severe stress. The main symptom is hair loss.
Finally breaking the silence about the incident, Jada Pinkett took to her verified Instagram page and simply posted, “This is a season of healing and I am here for it.”
Taking to Instagram days after the incident, Will and Jada Pinkett’s daughter, Willow shared a quote via her verified Instagram account that reads: “You know who’s going through a lot right now? Literally everyone. Just be kind.”
While Will Smith was condemned by the organisers of the award for hitting Rock, he apologised on Monday, calling violence “poisonous and destructive.”
The Men In Black actor wrote via his verified Instagram account, “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. 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.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. 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.
“I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behaviour has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress. Sincerely, Will.”
However, Rock has yet to comment publicly on what happened at the Oscars or Smith’s apology.
But it was gathered that the tickets for Rock’s upcoming comedy shows have reportedly skyrocketed in Sunday’s aftermath.
One live event ticketing site, TickPick, said on Monday that it sold more tickets the previous night than it did in the past month combined.
A spokesperson also told CBS that prices for an upcoming Rock show on Wednesday in Boston rose from $46 (£35.16) to $411 (£314).
More than half of all ticket sales for Rock’s tour – which went on sale a month ago – came after the incident at the Oscars. The vast majority – 88% – of ticket sales for Rock’s shows on the website over the last week came after the incident.
