American actor and film producer, Willard Carroll Smith II popularly known as Will Smith slapped American stand-up comedian and actor, Christopher Julius Rock also known as Chris Rock, for making jest of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Will slapped the comedian, who was the host for the 2022 Oscar Academy Awards show, after he (Rock) made a joke about Jada’s shaved head. As a part of making the joke, Chris said he couldn’t wait to see Jada featured in the sequel of an action movie from 1997 titled ‘G.I Jane’.
The movie was about a woman that went through Navy Seal training and beat many of her male counterparts and in the process of trying to complete the training, she shaved her hair.
Chris said, “Jada, I love you. G.I Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.” This joke led to Will Smith walking up to the stage and slapping the comedian and when he returned to his seat, he yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fu*king mouth.”
Recall that back in 2018, Jada revealed on her Red Table Talk Series that she was battling Alopecia which is an autoimmune disorder that leads to bad hair loss. The actress took the bold step in 2021 to shave her head and continue with the look.
Shortly after the altercation, Will won Best Actor for ‘King Richard.’ While giving a tearful speech he said, “Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. In this time of my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world. Making this film, I got to protect Saniyyah and Demi, the two actresses that played Serena and Venus.
“I’m being called on in my life to love and protect people and to be a River to my people and I know to do what we do, we have to be able to take abuse, you have to be able to take people talking crazy about you. In this business, you’ll be able to have people disrespecting you, you have to smile and pretend that it is okay.
“Denzel told me few minutes ago that at your highest moment, be careful because that is when the devil comes for you. It’s like, I want to be a vessel for love, I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family for trusting me with your story. That’s what I want to do, I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love, care, and concern.
“I want to apologize to the academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me, it about being able to shine light on all of the people”
In reaction to the incident, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) released an official statement and disclosed that they were investigating the issue, adding that the person who was slapped declined to file a report.
The statement said, “LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the academy awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another . The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report”.
Here is the list of the Oscar Awards 2022 winners;
Best Picture: Coda
Best actress: Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
Best actor: Will Smith, “King Richard”
Best supporting actress: Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
Best supporting actor: Troy Kotsur, “Coda”
Best director: Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
Adapted screenplay: Sian Heder, “Coda”
Original screenplay: Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”
International film: “Drive My Car” (Japan)
Visual effects: Dune
Cinematography: Dune
Original score: Hans Zimmer, “Dune”
Original song: No Time To Die (from No Time To Die)
Film editing: Dune
Costume design: Cruella
Makeup and hairstyling: The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Production design: Dune
Sound: Dune
Documentary feature film: Summer Of Soul(…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Documentary short subject: The Queen of Basketball
Animated feature film: Encanto
Animated short film: The Windshield Wiper
Live action short film: The Long Goodbye
